my last morning walk on the beach...

...as a cali rez.

so today was my last full day here in cali :( i had to take full advantage of my morning beach walk. i used to do it more regularly, but became so busy and i usually worked out better if i was @ the gym. anywho, headed out and down West i went. below are some pics of my walk. a pretty gloomy day actually. that's ok though. cali didn't wanna tease me with their amazing weather. they wanted to prepare me for KC.

here i was walking....this was the view. it seemed as though i was @ a retirement home or something. j/k. i luv old peeps. they are the bomb, but it was funny as i started noticing everyone around me was three times my age or so. it is a great time to get out there and go for a morning walk as there's a nice breeze from the ocean and there aren't tons of peeps around yet. anywho, first shot...




then i came upon this house. amazing location with one amazing of a price tag. i learned that these right here on the water front are in the $25 million dollar price range. yes, totally up my alley fo'sizzle.



and surfboards. can't forget those as its a very common site. the ones i luv the best are when they're strapped on the top of cars or even hanging out of the top of convertibles. so fun!


a purple house. the purple house people eater. i was cracking up when i walked passed this house. its not on the beach front. its on a little side street, but it was serious about the purple. purple pots, purple mailboxes, purple trim, purple doors. purple was everywhere.

the little village street with a handful of restaurants and surf shops. super cute and quaint area. a quick 5-minute walk from the vallecitos pad.


so there was my morning beach walk. i left around 8:30 a.m. and didn't return home until 10'ish (a.m. of course). time flies when you're having fun and getting the ruffles and lace a walking...

good night and just remember...cali will always be here and i will always visit!
nb

been a long time...

...a REALLLLLLY long time since i've posted anything.

why? you might ask? well, crazy, busy times here in SoCal. my month of august was filled with tons of exciting and sad events.

exciting events:
= new job...back into the world-wide-web of my advertising career.
= lea and lil'joj's cali visit! we had a blast with muy cerveza's, margarita's, beach time, happy hour, dinner, shopping and relaxation.
= red tracton debut in solana beach. the 'piano lady' was playing some good tunes on her electric piano propped up agaisnt the grand piano. cougar's were out and on a prawl, arrrr. doug and kris were enjoying their 3-wisemen shot ;)
= karaoke celebration for susan's bday bash. we 'dropped like it was hot', sang to a little journey and tried to stay clear of mr. sleeve man that was all up in my biz. he was so into me he even spilled his drink on me. so not cool. hehe
= del mar races...via turf club style. got all dressed up. put the pearls on and won some BIG money. well, not really BIG money, but it was still a blast to cheer on those horses and feel big and important that day.
= sunday funday good-bye nikki lunch @ the Del in Coronado. thx to my WONDERFUL cali friends for being so cool, warm, inviting and fun! it was a great lunch with great friends. i'm gonna miss you'all. see ya soon fo'sizzle though!
= padres baseball game. and believe it or not, they actually won. it was a good game. even a homerun and the best part was...kylee, susan and myself made it BIG time on the mega-tron screen. susan was like, "nikki that's you." and then we waved our little hearts out. that was so super exciting and cool.

sad events:
= saying good-bye to my little kiddos. camden and emily are the bomb. they have been my entourage and BFF's. i'm gonna miss those little burgers. on the flip side though. they're gonna be in KC in two weeks so i'm gonna hang with them for a night. see ya soon my little peeps!
= saying good-bye to my roommies, amy and dave. they are the coolest peeps to live with...in an AMAZING house i might add. so saying bye to the house of relaxation will be hard to. back to apartment/condo living for me.
= saying good-bye to the beach and surf. i'm gonna miss that sound of the waves putting me to sleep @ night.

anywho, all-in-all it has been a good month and i'm looking forward to my newest adventure and getting back into my career where i can put the ruffles and lace back on...

surf's up!
nb

shattered dreams...

...as i finally came to the realization today that i will need to re-think my car purchase decision.


i've been stuck on getting a convertible when i get back to kc. i know you ask, "why get a convertible in the midwest. isn't cali the place for convertibles?" yes and no. since i won't be able to enjoy this terrific cali weather i said to myself...heck, i'm gonna bring as much of cali back to kc with me as i can. so a few things were in store:

1. get a convertible
2. get a place with a pool
3. drink lots of margarita's
4. wear sunscreen everyday (the smell will remind me of cali)

so on that note i was looking @ getting the new VW Eos. of course i would absolutely LUV to have a 3 series BMW hardtop convertible, but WTF...am i dreaming?! yup, pretty much. in my dreams!!! however, they do say they "only" start out @ $43k. i built mine and it approached the $50k mark. i could have went even more, but realized i needed to stop adding all the extras ;)

at any rate, the VW Eos. fun, cute and new...new to the VW line. i did tons of research. even rode in one of my bff's one [yes, i know...i didn't want to copy her, but is a great convert!]. my biggest reason for wanting the Eos was because its the only hardtop out there [besides the BMW convert] and with the wonderful midwest weather i think it would do me best to at least have a hardtop vs. soft top. plus for insurance reasons it makes it cheaper...well i assume. so, i'm coming to the findings that these are a popular car and VERY hard to find or possibly they didn't ship a big inventory of these to the midwest 'cuz heck, who wants a convertible in the midwest with the humidity, snow, rain, ice, haha. they don't really have any great deals on leasing or buying one right now either so my convertible dreams might be shattered as i don't really want to pay an arm and a leg for this one. if i'm gonna pay an arm and a leg i would splurge on the beamer ;)

so my convert dreams might be shattered and i won't be able to bring part of cali back with me

...UNLESS...

i consider the mini cooper convertible? or the VW beetle convertible? i don't totally see myself in either of those cars; however, if i had to choose one i could see me in it would the be the mini convertible. what do ya think? should i go for it? could you see me in it? hmmmm decisions, decisions.

onward with the convertible car searching via ruffles & lace style,
nb

one of the sadess...

...things ever.

so i swear kids are the smartest peeps on this planet. emily, the little three year old i watch just came back to my room (with her mom) to show me a boo-boo she just got from stepping on one of her brother's airplanes. she was crying and so sad. she then said, "i don't want you to leave. please sleep here tonight." ya, pretty much made my heart melt as the kiddos don't know i am leaving their home.

so i live with the fam here in cali and have lived with them since day one. pretty much like their older sister. i just have a room down the hall from them. anywho, wow. i teared up so much after she said that and her mom was crying. it was very emotional. i luv those kiddos so much and feel so bad i have to leave them. i wish it wasn't this hard...

its booked...

...my flight home to KC.

i just did it. i pulled the trigger and bought a one-way tix. one-way home...to KC.

its for real. i accepted my job @ VML yesterday and am heading back. as i'm looking @ my flight details of current and past flights with SWA [southwest airlines], i realized i have been on 10 flights [just with SWA] since last year @ this time. wow, around the world in 10 flights with SWA. its pretty much what i've felt these last 12 months. i have really been on an airplane adventure every single month for the last year [since 2007]. sometimes in one month it was has been @ least two round-trip flight adventures. with either the same or different airlines.

let me tally with both SWA and other airlines:
1. july '07 move to cali
2. aug '07 to omaha for one of my bff's wedding...lea's
3. aug '07 back to omaha for one of my bff's boy's wedding...t-dogg's
4. oct '07 to kc (for what? i have no clue? hmmm. just saw it on my flight history) i can only assume for fun!
5. nov '07 to kc for the chief's reunion game
6. nov '07 to boise for thxgiving with the sista and future bro-in-law (and their two pups)
7. dec '07 to home shelton for fam-filled xmas holiday
8. feb '08 to kc for my bday festivities
9. march '08 to san fran to celebrate my irish heritage
10. april '08 to park city, ut for skiing fun
11. may '08 to home in shelton for sis wedding day planning, cake tasting...all that jazz
12. june '08 to cabo san lucas...my other bff mrs. amy k joined me
13. june '08 to kc just for the hecks of it (oh, and a job interview. the job i accepted now)
14. aug '08 back to kc (to come)

and that's how the tally ends up. one big circle from a one-way out to cali to a one-way back to kc.

anywho, i do love to fly and here i am...flying back to the good 'ole midwest where the buffalo roam and the deer and the antelope play. away from the ocean breeze :( please bring me some lace to cover up my ruffly sorrow...

peace,
nb

today was the day...

...i accepted the job offer. so i did it. i said "yes" to VML and am gonna plunge right back into my career. which i am totally stoked for. saying "yes" lands me back in kc so i have to say gŏŏd-bī' to the beach, sun and fun of cali and say he-loh to the snow, humidity and fun of kc...again.

i am sad to depart cali as it is AMAZING here, but it will always be here...unless a really bad earthquakes hits. j/k. that was mean. i take that back. anywho, it will be even more amazing being closer to my fam and friends back in the good 'ole midwest...as the beach and sun doesn't necessarily make up for not having your fam and friends around. when it comes down to it...i am a midwest girl @ heart.

my year out here has pretty much seemed like one long vacay ;) and why am i complaining? long vacay's are a good thing, right?! but @ any rate, i've been able to learn, grow and do so many things i normally wouldn't have. so its been a great year and i'm ready to get back to home base and get my career rolling again.

i'm gonna miss the kiddos. we've become BFF's and i'm like their older sis, but they'll know where to find me and i definitely plan on going on their fam vacay's and coming out to visit or even babysit when needed.

so on that note, i besta get this ruffles & lace to bed as i am on kiddo duty @ 7:30 a.m. ouch!

nites,
nb

weekend biz...

...consisted of a doggie bday partay, a pink lady martini lunch, muscle's and mac 'n cheese wine dinner, a night out with the kiddos and a job offer.

yes! finally...after months of attending a million interviews, i have a job offer! finally heading back into my career and hanging up the interview suit. i'm excited to get back into my biz as i do miss the comradery of the ad world. on that note, i will have to say good-bye to the wild wild west as my job opp is back in good 'ole KC. it won't be the same as having the beach out my front door is pretty amazing; however, getting back into my career and being closer to my fam and friends will be worth it. the ad world down here in sunny san diego isn't really all that big of a deal here. bummer, but everything happens for a reason.

lets see...the doggie bday partay. a good excuse to let the dogs loose and run around a grassy knoll while the adults sip on some adult beverages and dip into the guac and pico :) dogs are a lot like children i notice. it was a fun time to hang with everyone and have a little doggie play-date...even though i didn't have a dog.

my pink lady martini lunch @ george's was pretty darn good. i could have about ten of those, but didn't. i held off to just one. one martini lunch... i'll totes have to take joanna [lil' joj] and lea there when they come to visit next week! yay. i'm so excited. its a great roof top lunch spot with an amazing ocean view. i need to start taking advantage of that more before i head back to the midwest.

the muscle's and mac 'n cheese wine dinner wasn't one dish. three separate things. i know! i had ya worried ;) had a great glass of gewurztraminer, muscle's and a nibble on some mac 'n cheese. pretty good stuff. i haven't had muscle's for ages so it was nice to partake in those again. i know, the mac 'n cheese kind of seems random, but there's this mac 'n cheese kick a handful of girls and i are on. i went on this girls trip to NYC [an AMAZING time!] back in april and it seemed everywhere we went we ordered mac 'n cheese to share. so it ended up being a continuous joke each place we went we had to get the mac 'n cheese...so we continued that fun right here in san d.

the kiddo night. o wow! i almost forgot i was a good [ya, the best!] babysitter ever. i took them to dave and busters. and wow! that's all i can say. wow! what a crazy place and what adults in their right mind really want to go there for fun? it is just madness there. the kids had a blast so that's what really counts...right?! [pic to the right isn't one from dave & buster's. just a cute one i wanted to share. i had no time to actually coordinate taking pics @ the madness of dave & buster's.]

so, that's pretty much the weekend low-down. i besta get to packing up these ruffles & lace.

chow,
nb