June 2nd-June 10th - My Birthday & Connecticut!

Sunday was my birthday and I was excited to celebrate with friends and family! I told my parents that I did not want any gifts and instead I made a fundraiser for the American Red Cross disaster relief to raise money for the efforts in Oklahoma after the destruction that the tornadoes caused. A sincere thank you to those who donated!

My parents got me gifts anyway and so did other loved ones which they shouldn't have but I love every gift and card that I received! 

Every other year I usually have my party at the beach but this year there was a chance of storms so everyone went to Mike's house and we had fruit, cheese, salad, chips, pizza and cake mmm! We all hung out, ate and later went outside and played frisbee and football which was really fun!

A big thank you to everyone who sent me birthday wishes and each person who came to celebrate with me, you all made this day special and memorable! It was also my best friend Dennise's birthday the same day! I am honored to be her birthday twin and I hope she had an amazing weekend! <3

I am blessed to have the most amazing people in my life.

At night Mike and I watched Wreck-It Ralph which turned out to be a really good movie! On Tuesday I left to go to Connecticut with my Dad to visit and help my Grandma around the house. That night my Grandma had some pictures and newspaper clippings out which were really neat. One newspaper article was about my Uncle Victor scoring in the top one percent in his class in the country. Later going on to study at Notre Dame and MIT, his intelligence was remarkable and we miss him greatly. 

The next day we went grocery shopping with my Grandma and later in the day I was outside when all of a sudden two huge black dogs came running at me, I love animals but I was pretty scared! I got my Dad and we found out they were very hyper but nice dogs. 

We started playing fetch with them and one ran away and jumped in the pond. He was swimming and then he tried to get out but it seemed like something was biting him! He would all of a sudden go underwater and was trying to get something off of him! We realized he really could not get out so my Dad ran to call someone because he was going to get too tired and drown. While he was doing that I did not give up I went to another part of the pond and called him over and he finally got out! 

The next morning I went for a run down my Grandma's street because I want to work on toning to compete for Miss New York USA. Then we went to stores with my Grandma after and the next day until we went to The Painted Pony Restaurant for dinner. I ordered a small pizza and it was huge!

Saturday my Dad and I were leaving Connecticut but first we took a picture of my Grandma with a doll made in 1900 that was her Mother's. It was really neat to see something made over a century ago and to hear about the history of it in my family!

Then we headed back home and the next day my Mom thought of riding bikes on canal so we did that and it was a challenging workout but a beautiful view and really fun! 

At night the hairstylist Oribe had a show in Miami that Mike and his family attended and I was able to stream it on the computer to watch it from home. On Monday I did errands and got ready to head back to Los Angeles!

May 28th-June 1st - NYC & Friends!

Tuesday morning I headed to the airport and flew to New York City! On the flight I finally saw Argo and I thought it was really interesting. I landed at JFK airport and took public transportation to my apartment which was a little difficult with two huge suitcases...

I finally made it and my roommate's Mom was home and she made vegetable pasta that was really good! Sarah and Dennise came home from work and it was so exciting to see them after not seeing them for over four months! We caught up on each other's lives and it was also my first time seeing Dennise since her arm was fractured in multiple places because a mugger pushed her down on the cement! :( I don't want to get too emotional about it but it sickens me that someone could do this to a stranger, never mind to such an incredible person like her. Then we all watched the movie Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World which was cute.

The next morning Dennise and I had breakfast and my friend Lauren who I used to work with at Maialino restaurant came over to see the apartment because she was going to be subletting my room for two months. Then Lauren and I went to yoga at Yoga To The People which felt great! Afterwards we went to Hane Japanese restaurant that I love!

I showered up and headed to Turtle Bay which was a cool bar where my friend Ritz was hanging out with coworkers after work. We left and got a little something to eat at Le Pain which was yummy. She treated me and got me a card for my birthday that was so sweet! 

Back at the apartment I hung out with my roommates and Dennise's Mom and boyfriend Tommy. The next morning I went to get my nails done with my good friend Julie which was so nice to be able to do together! Afterwards I headed to Times Square to meet with an artist who had given me a picture for free over six months ago and I wanted to pay him for it. I felt bad that it took me so long but I would never forget something like that!

It was neat to see Courtney's new work and he was happy that I could stop by and catch up! For mail orders you can contact him at newyorknewart@yahoo.com. After, I headed to Sarah's work and got to meet her co-workers and then her and I got lunch at Dishes and ate in a park nearby which was fun!

Later in the day there was a going away party for one of the managers where I used to work at Maialino who was taking another job within the USHG company. People gave speeches and two employees even made a song which was hilarious and afterwards I got to see a lot of the people I used to work with which was so nice! 

Then our friend Danielle came over to the apartment to talk because she was going to rent out my spot for a couple of weeks. After, my roommates and I went to dinner to celebrate Dennise and my birthdays since we were both born on June 2nd! We went to Hane and it was perfect, I was so thankful to be able to be with two of my best friends and to celebrate Dennise's birthday with her! Thank you two for making this birthday so special for me, love you!

The next morning Sarah came with me to Dunkin Donuts and then I was heading to the bus stop to go home. I realized it was going to be too difficult to take the subway there with my all of my luggage and the short amount of time I had until the bus left so I had to try to find a cab in rush hour but Sarah helped me run after one and I made it! It was my first time taking the Megabus and it was pretty good!

It was nice to be home and we went to PF Changs right away to eat but then I found out that my Mom had not been feeling well lately and my Dad had been in the hospital because he thought he was having a heart attack! It was sad to come home to that news but I was glad my Dad turned out to be okay and that I could spend time with them. Afterwards I went with Mike and his family to Grinnell's for dinner with Carrie, a photographer we are friends with, and Matt her husband which was nice.

On Saturday we ate with Mike's family during the day and later with mine and got ready to throw my birthday party the next day!