8th Annual Halloween Party: Gangsta Style!

Thoughts......

Wow, what can I say, I can't believe this was our "8th Year" of keeping this tradition alive!  It's been so much fun.  We started this tradition the first year we had started dating, in a tiny little one bedroom apartment, it's evolved into needing to book at venue and hire professional vendors!  I love how excited our friends get about this too...they start asking for clues on the upcoming theme in July :)

Setting the Scene....

This year after much talk and thought we decided to host this year's party at Regency Garden (which is a lovely wedding venue that I coordinate at weekly).  It's funny how our Halloween parties tend to be almost time stamped, due to where we are in our lives at the time.

Once I had officially booked the location, the theme is easy!  Regency has this very Chicago/New York vibe to it, many of its design influences came from New Orleans Square in Disneyland. So, our theme "The Boss Calls for You" was born. 

The best part about it was, hardly any decorations were even needed....just some nice floor length linens and some gorgeous centerpieces (sadly there weren't many decor photos taken, everyone was having too good of a time)...but the centers were these amazing wrought iron tall holders with a floral display on top.  In addition we had dripping pearls, poker chips, and a splash of playing cards scattered on the tables~looked awesome!  All of the flowers were provided by the talented team at Crismons Flowers. 

A Savory Affair provided a mouth-watering Italian feast for all the guests to enjoy, complete with pastas, sauces, meat balls, caesar salad, antipasto display, breads....and most importantly an amazing dessert table!  My sweet cousin Nina brought in homemade Tiramisu, that just topped everything off deliciously!

And what amazing duo was responsible for the rocking dance floor all night?  That would certainly be
The BarGuys  responsible for keeping the libations flowing and Sarah with Birkett Entertainment who kept the music pumping. 

And of course let's not forget my rock star photo team Still Life Studios, who captured so many amazing photos, it was difficult for me just to choose a small handful for the blog!

And lastly, one of the most unique vendors had to be the girls from Troupe Harmony (shown below) they are actually a group of very talented belly dancers....but for one night only transformed themselves into "Flapper/Mobster" Girls ~with a belly dancing twist!

The key to having a successful event, if working with the right team of vendors, no doubt about it! 

The People......

All I can say is umm...wow.  To be honest we were a little nervous to host our party at Regency at first, for fear that the size of the venue would be too large.  (Event planning 101:  You never want a space that is too big, it creates a feeling of emptiness and low energy..it's better to be crowed than too spacious)  However once the word was out, the RSVPs kept rolling in.  I believe, if I counted correctly..... we had over 70 guests in attendance ~which was awesome! 

We had our Halloween Party "regulars", along with many new faces, which was very exciting!

  The Moments......

So many fun things happened....it's hard to name them all...but I will try~my favorite moments included:

1.)  Walking into Regency and being so warmly greeted by Chris Nagy, the owner of Regency.  He had done so many things to go the extra mile for our party and he was so excited to host our event!
2.)  Being able to hug and chat with so many old friends.
3.)  Meeting so many new friends. 

4.) Pulling up Justin in front of everyone and telling him that we weren't really having our Halloween Party, we were actually there to renew of Wedding Vows....I was of course kidding, but his face was priceless
5.) Dick Tracy winning the Costume Contest
6.) Me...falling ever so non gracefully smack in the middle of dance floor in front of everyone...the sad part was that I had only had one glass wine by this time, I'm just that clumsy (I left these photos off of the blog, sorry)

7.) Nina's Outfit, enough said
8.) Dancing with Trevor and Isis, they flew all the in from Berkeley to attend!
9.) Jimmy's enormous Rugby bump on his head, that so went so well with his costume.
10.) Noah's "Footloose" Dance, of course

11.) Embarrassing Addie in front of all her co-workers
12.) Matt doing his splits

The Memories.....what I will cherish from this night...
1.) Seeing my husband smile, dance, and having so much fun ~after several stressful months
2.) Justin surprising me with a special song dedication~actually made me tear up
3.) Dancing so much I could barely walk the next day~thank you Michael Jackson, Usher & Sir Mix A Lot

# 23. Host our 8th Annual Halloween Party ~can officially be checked off of my 101s in 1001 list!

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My Hero.....

  Ahh, this last year of P.T. School has been the hardest....and I'm only the supporting spouse, not the poor student!!  My amazing husband is my hero... this last year has been understandingly difficult for obvious reasons...but these last eight weeks have been so draining for Justin.  (after Friday he has a much needed 3 week break)!

His rotation is in downtown Phoenix,at Good Samaritan Hospital...so he has to fight all the morning and evening traffic.  He's been working in the hospital setting "In Patient", which isn't his passion...he wants to work in "Out Patient".  The days have been long~close to 10 hours days, plus the drive time on top.  He comes home every night just beat~while still having to do several projects for school.....mind you, this whole time he's not earning a paycheck...... not yet at least. (approx 8 more months to go)!

I thought I'd share:  According to a new report by CNN Money, Physical Therapist was ranked # 4 in the "Best Jobs in America"!!!

I was emailed this article, and it just shed some much needed light on this tunnel....


http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/2010/snapshots/4.html

You can do it, my love...you're almost there!  I'm so proud of you!!!

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Highlight on October...

  So I realized that if I ever plan on getting caught up on my blogging I'm going to need to try and condense October into one post... because it was SUCH a busy, crazy, fun month!!!  Wow, no wonder why I was so exhausted by the time November rolled around...

So here we go...highlights of this month included:

Mike & Heather's "Grown Up " Party:

The title of the party was actually called "Mike and Heather's Grown Up Party" which just cracks me up!  I imagine as a parent "Grown Up" parties are a lot more fun without the kids;)  Mike and Heather  just finished re-modeling their home in Scottsdale and it looks a-may-zing! Their look is very modern, industrial, minimalistic... and they did a fantastic job....I'm quite certain they could rent their out for private parties and make a pretty penny for sure! They invited all their "Grown Up" friends over for an evening of cocktails and catching up... so much fun! 

Julie's Housewarming Party:

I love Julie, though for whatever reason we rarely get to see each other....she's the whole package:  caring, smart, and her quirky humor could entertain me for hours~ and I'm lucky to call her a friend!  She recently purchased a darling home in Scottsdale and had a little house warming party one Sunday afternoon.  Although Justin wasn't able to attend ...my little brother Chase went with me to celebrate with Julie! Her home is just too cute, and she even has a few of these cool little owls that help to decorate her place!  Later that day I took my Stinkerbell up to Scottsdale Fashion Square and we had lunch at Z Tejas, caught the movie The Social Network, then finished off our day with a trip to Yogurt Land~fun times.   

Justin shot Three Weddings:

My husband amazes me... along with working his 50 hour rotation, handling all his homework and studies, he still managed to shoot three weddings for Still Life Studios and do an amazing job!  Here's a favorite shot from each wedding. 

Shot at Seville Golf & Country Club

Shot at Regency Garden

Shot at Anthem Golf & Country Club

Visit with my Granny:

My Sweet Granny, I haven't been able to spend much time with her this past year...and I've missed her so much.  She's just such a cool person...at times she's more like a sister than a Grandmother...being that,....she'll tell me anything and sometimes shocks me (she's quite the story teller)... but loves with a heart as big as Tennessee.  I have some fun things in mind to do together this upcoming year ~

I just love her!

Lunch with Melissa & Little Man:

I love my lunches with Melissa!  We met up one Monday afternoon to have a lunch at Sweet Tomatoes.  I'm typically off on Mondays and Melissa usually works a half day~so it works out perfectly.  Melissa's friendship has always meant so much to me, but this year especially...her open heart, loving voice and caring spirit have really helped me through this year...she's an earth angel, no doubt about it.  She had promised Gregory he could see the duckies afterwards if he was a good boy at lunch;)

Rudy's Sleepover:

Julie needed an over night sitter for Mr.Rudy man...so a doggie sleep over was in order!  Sammy and Olive were so excited...but not nearly as excited as Justin was~he just loves Rudy! Julie has Rudy trained so well...he's such a good dog~I'm hoping Julie can train my little girls one day;)

Happy Birthday Heather:

Back to Heather's home for a second time in the month of October:) This time to celebrate her 31st birthday!  Heather is Melissa's sister in law and over the past year or so.... has become a new fun and fabulous friend of mine!  She's a super sexy mommy of three, and tons of fun! 

Beauty & The Beast:

I love Gammage!  So for an early birthday present, my parents bought us tickets to see Beauty & the Beast....such great music and a wonderful production~and it was great to double with mom & dad. 

Sham's Birthday:

Sham man....otherwise known as Shannon Starr...had a birthday to be celebrated so we treated him to dinner at Kona Grill, followed by an evening at the movies.

Justin Starts his 2nd Rotation:

My gorgeous husband started his 2nd rotation in October...working at Good Sam in downtown Phoenix.  So far it's been his most challenging rotation for several reasons....but he's now just that much closer to graduating.  I love him in scrubs!

Belated Birthday Dinner with Naseem:

Naseem had celebrated her big 30th birthday back in September by taking a "girls trip" to Mexico....I unfortunately couldn't make it...so we decided on a sushi date instead!  Happy Belated Birthday Naseem!

8th Annual Halloween Party:

This was the highlight for sure...so much so that I'll do a separate blog on our big bash!

Starr Dinner:

This photo makes me happy.... just because I know how happy it would make Barbara feel, knowing that her family was together.  Trevor and Isis had flown in for the big Halloween Party and to celebrate Shannon's birthday, so on their last night we had dinner out on the town.

Halloween CG Style:

And the last event of our very busy month was a trip down to CG on halloween.  Whenever we start feeling really overwhelmed and just need to veg out for awhile... we take the pups and head down to my mom and dads home, there we can just completely relax.  We never have any little tricker treaters in our condo complex,  so it was fun to be able to pass out candy at mom and dads

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Casa Grande Survivors...

It takes a long time to grow an old friend. ~John Leonard

 

I really do treasure the time I get to spend with these two amazing women, and it's a REALLY big deal when all three of us can be together at the same time...it's rare, so the times are very special.

Aimee had flown in back in late September and the three of went out to dinner in Casa Grande and talked about everything in life from boys, jobs, ups, downs and everything in between...then we when back to my parents home and talked about it all over again ~just like old times.

Keeping friends for fifthteen plus years isn't always the easiest thing to do, but it sure is worth it!

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Such Sweetness....

My lovely cousin Bri is having her second baby.....probably before the New Year!  Justin and I had the pleasure of capturing some gorgeous photographs of Bri, Donnie, Gracie, and "Baby" to Be one fall Sunday evening.  I just adore this family, and Gracie melts me....she's just the sweetest little girl I've ever met, and now she's going to be a big sister!!   Here are some of my favorite photos from the shoot, taken by my ultra talented husband. 

 

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Go Fish!

  One hot summer day in September I decided that I had to get up to Forrest Lakes to visit my Grandparents. My Grandpa and Grandma Norris have owned a cute little trailer up north for about ten years or so...and they spend the majority of the summers up their. It had been several, several years since my last visit up there (and Justin had never been) so a quick little day road trip was in order.

At first I was planning on going by myself, because Justin had so many things going (although I can't even remember what they were now)...but at the last minute he decided to join me, which of course made me very happy! So up the mountains we drove.....

My dad was already up there with my uncle Bill.  We were able to spend some great time with dad...fishing and going off roading in the Polaris. 

I even caught the first fish!  I have such great memories of fishing with my dad when I was a little girl....even as a child I was always kind of a girly-girl....I have a distinct memory of getting so mad at my dad because he would try and make me, bait my own hook...and I did not want to touch those worms!!!  I'm pretty sure even though Dad would try and make me tough, after enough of hearing my screaming and carrying on, he would give in..and bait the hook for me. 

Although our little visit was very short and sweet, it was great to spend a little time with my Grandma and Grandpa...and hear the wind whistle through the trees, and just "be" for a little while.

I'm so glad we made it up there, it had been a goal of mine for quite some time... I can now mark not one but two items off my 101 in 1001...

# 4. Visit Grandma & Grandpa up a Forrest Lakes

# 75. Go fishing

It's a nice reminder that no matter how busy life can get, or how long the to do list is....it's important sometimes to able to just stop, enjoy, and be still....

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Stinks Turns 20!!!

Shocking I know, this goofy little kid is now 20.......  wow!  I picked up Chase from ASU after work and we headed down to good ole CG for some birthday fun with the folks. 

My uncle Dan and his girlfriend Karen were in town, so they joined us for dinner at Tommy Bistros.  Fun time had by all...and the weirdest part of the evening was when Chase was given a "turtle" for a birthday gift from my parents... they thought Chase needed a little roommate after all....along with a couple other "random" gifts... Like his "Face/Butt" towel~apparently he uses the same towel quite often and mom thought it was important that he didn't get confused??...gross... that will surely impress the ladies Chase...

  The last photo of my parents....makes me laugh out loud every time I see it.  I had left my camera at their house, and my dad had called me as we were heading up back to the valley...so I turned around to pick up my camera.  About a week later I was uploading photos when this photo of my mom and dad popped up on my screen...and I thought what in the world? ...apparently they thought it would be funny to leave me a surprise photo on my camera...(there was also a random photo of a bug?...but I decided the bug wasn't blog worthy)...but the photo just cracks me up because you can just tell they're totally giggling at their scheme...and they look like little high school sweethearts on facebook with this pose and goofy expressions on the their faces.... I just love it! 

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P.S. You may notice some drastically different editing styles on these photos...and several upcoming photos in the future... that is because I've come to the realization that I can no longer have Justin edit all of our photos any more, he just doesn't have the time...so I'm forcing myself to learn how to edit!!!  I know to "non photo freaks" this may sound like no big deal...or perhaps you can't even tell a difference..but in the "photo world" poor editing can really make or break things..

Because all of our photos (for the most part) are shot in RAW...they all have to go through a lengthy process of Photo Mechanic, Light Room, and sometimes Photo Shop before they are converted into jpegs...quite a process.... but I'm making myself to learn this stuff {also goal number 57 on my 101 in 1001s: Photo Journaling: Learn how to edit professional photos starting w/ the raw file}


....so in the mean time my photos will look weird..but bare with me I'm learning... ;) Too much boring  info...sorry, I'm actually a nerd in real life..shhh...don't tell!!

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A Simple Kind of Life.....

Since turning the big 3-0, I've had one major theme on my mind.....how can I simplify our complicated lives?   So, I've been doing a little research on this topic, and thought I'd share some of my favorite "simplifying suggestions".....

Evaluate your time. How do you spend your day? What things do you do, from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep? Make a list, and evaluate whether they’re in line with your priorities. If not, eliminate the things that aren’t, and focus on what’s important. Redesign your day.

Simplify work tasks. Our work day is made up of an endless list of work tasks. If you simply try to knock off all the tasks on your to-do list, you’ll never get everything done, and worse yet, you’ll never get the important stuff done. Focus on the essential tasks and eliminate the rest.

Simplify home tasks. In that vein, think about all the stuff you do at home. Sometimes our home task list is just as long as our work list. And we’ll never get that done either. So focus on the most important, and try to find ways to eliminate the other tasks (automate, eliminate, delegate, or hire help).

Limit your communications(I love this one!). Our lives these days are filled with a vast flow of communications: email, IM, cell phones, paper mail, Skype, Twitter, forums, and more. It can take up your whole day if you let it. Instead, put a limit on your communications: only do email at certain times of the day, for a certain number of minutes (I recommend twice a day, but do what works for you). Only do IM once a day, for a limited amount of time. Limit phone calls to certain times too. Same with any other communications. Set a schedule and stick to it.

Limit your media consumption. This tip won’t be for everyone, so if media consumption is important to you, please skip it (as with any of the other tips). However, I believe that the media in our lives — TV, radio, Internet, magazines, etc. — can come to dominate our lives. Don’t let it. Simplify your life and your information consumption by limiting it. Try a media fast.

Purge your stuff. If you can devote a weekend to purging the stuff you don’t want, it feels seriously terrific. Get boxes and trash bags for the stuff you want to donate or toss. Here’s my guide on decluttering.

 Simplify your wardrobe. Is your closet bursting full? Are your drawers so stuffed they can’t close (I’m talking about dresser drawers here, not underwear). Simplify your wardrobe by getting rid of anything you don’t actually wear. Try creating a minimal wardrobe by focusing on simple styles and a few solid colors that all match each other.

Spend time alone — spend in solitude. Alone time is good for you, although some people aren’t comfortable with it. It could take practice getting used to the quiet, and making room for your inner voice. It sounds new-agey, I know, but it’s extremely calming. And this quiet is necessary for finding out what’s important to you.

Drive slowly. Most people rush through traffic, honking and getting angry and frustrated and stressed out. And endangering themselves and others in the meantime. Driving slower is not only safer, but it is better on your fuel bill, and can be incredibly peaceful. Give it a try.

Be present. These two words can make a huge difference in simplifying your life. Living here and now, in the moment, keeps you aware of life, of what is going on around you and within you. It does wonders for your sanity.

Clear your desk. If you have a cluttered desk, it can be distracting and disorganized and stressful. A clear desk, however, is only a couple of simple habits away.

Establish routines. The key to keeping your life simple is to create simple routines.

Create a simple weekly dinner menu. If figuring out what’s for dinner is a nightly stressor for you or your family, consider creating a weekly menu. Decide on a week’s worth of simple dinners, set a specific dinner for each night of the week, go grocery shopping for the ingredients. Now you know what’s for dinner each night, and you have all the ingredients necessary. No need for difficult recipes — find ones that can be done in 10-15 minutes (or less).

Declutter before organizing. Many people make the mistake of taking a cluttered desk or filing cabinet or closet or drawer, and trying to organize it. Unfortunately, that’s not only hard to do, it keeps things complicated. Simplify the process by getting rid of as much of the junk as possible, and then organizing. If you declutter enough, you won’t need to organize at all.

Have a place for everything. Age-old advice, but it’s the best advice on keeping things organized. After you declutter.

Create morning and evening routines. A great way to simplify your life is to create routines at the start and end of your day.

Go for quality, not quantity. Try not to have a ton of stuff in your life … instead, have just a few possessions, but ones that you really love, and that will last for a long time.

Learn to pack light. Who wants to lug a bunch of luggage around on a trip?

Leave space around things in your day.(love this one too!) Whether they’re appointments, or things you need to do, don’t stack them back-to-back. Leave a little space between things you need to do, so you will have room for contingencies, and you’ll go through your day much more relaxed.

Happy Thursday all!

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Chicken Tikka Masala ~ My New Love

We try to average a date night once a week, which has now become increasingly challenging due to me working on Saturdays again....but somehow we make it work. 

 On this particular date night we hit up my new fav Indian Restaurant: Star of India (its so weird, I CRAVE it now).  Although I can't exactly remember I think following dinner we hit it our two neighborhood hot spots: Valle Luna & Nate's 3rd Base for drinks....followed of course..... by a weenie cuddle session.

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Murder Mystery Party

In the wedding industry it's nearly impossible to try and get "industry people" together on ANY weekend night during season...unless a Friday or Saturday falls on "certain dates"...such as Friday the 13th, April Fools Day (only fools marry on this day, like me & Justin) or...in this case September 11th.

So being that it was 9/11 many "event people" had the night off, so a few of my friends decided to jump on this idea and host a murder mystery dinner party...although I did have to work this night~as Regency did sale that date..we made it to the party around 8ish. 

Being that we were came late we were a bit confused as to what was going on with the "mystery"...but we still managed to have a great catching up with so many of my favorite people! Here's a few photos from this night.....

 

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New Beginnings....

New Beginnings.....The end of this past summer was an important turning point in both of our lives.....On August 30th, 2010 Justin officially started his third and FINAL year of his Doctorate of Physical Therapy Program!!  I can't even believe than he will no longer be a student in less than a year......throughout our entire relationship Justin has been a student and has been working towards this goal.  The third year of his program is an important one..because he's actually "on the field".  He takes on four different 8 week rotations and different facilities each concentrating on a different type of Physical Therapy.  For this first rotation he was at  Rich Physical Therapy. 

Then on September 4th, I started a new job at Regency Garden, a very successful and privately owned Wedding Venue in downtown historic Mesa.  While I still continue to work at Still Life Studios doing all the Marketing and Sales, I'm working at Regency Garden on Tuesdays (showing the facility and such) and coordinating on Saturdays.  Although it's been a little nutty balancing between both locations, it's been a lot of fun.  I was most interested in working at Regency because I was eager to learn the difference between a privately ran venue vs. a corporate ran venue (like Seville).  The owners of Regency have done an amazing job and Regency does well over 100 plus weddings a year.
 
While, I'm still in process of starting up my Event Coordination and Design Company~I know that my experience working with these TWO successful businesses will only guide me in the right direction.  I'm so lucky to know so many talented, passionate, and good hearted people in this industry:)

And with these New Beginnings...comes more work, more organizing, and more life balancing...but we've made through and still managed to have fun along the way!

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