Travel Plans – My Friend Staci

Where Next?

Traveling to Kansas a couple of weeks ago made me realize that aside from trips to Temecula to say overnight at my parents’ house, we really haven’t gone anywhere since we moved here! No wonder I have been feeling so antsy. I need to see a new city!

When we got married we made a plan to visit somewhere cool for each anniversary. Traveling and having new experiences is simply a priority for us! For our first anniversary we visited St. Louis and last year we took an epic Europe vacation!

Where should we go this year? With our anniversary in just a few short weeks, we’re thinking of places to visit that aren’t very far from home, so a quick two or three day trip can be squeezed in.

First choice is a place that it seems like every blogger has gone to recently–Palm Springs! It seems like the place to be is the Ace Hotel, but that’s much too pricey–right now, anyway–and I found a couple of steals on priceline.com for places just as cool, like The Saguaro, recently documented by Elsie at A Beautiful Mess.

Secondly, last year’s West Elm catalogs and various articles in Sunset make me want to go glamping (glamorous camping) …possibly in a cabin or a yurt at Big Sur? I love the great outdoors–especially forests–but I’ve never been much of a camper… we don’t own a tent and I think we only have one sleeping bag between the two of us, so a luxurious cabin with a real bed seems like my style of camping.

Many So Cal people take advantage of our proximity to Las Vegas for a quick getaway–stay somewhere cool, gawk at the interiors of each strip hotel, shop, take in a show–eat sushi unreasonably late, etc. It seems like every time I turn around I hear of someone gearing up for a Vegas weekend or just getting back from one!

Lastly, it would be really neat to fly up to Portland, if we found a steal of a ticket. With a few friends in/near Portland, we could see friendly faces, check out all the must-see stores and restaurants, and reenact our favorites scenes from Portlandia.

*All photos used under Creative Commons. 
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May Exercise Resolution

My favorite thing about the fact that it’s finally MAY is that now I can finally say we are going to Europe “NEXT MONTH!” Which is exciting, because it’s so soon but also a little sad because the trip will be here and gone before we know it. Additionally, I’m weighing the pros/cons of not blogging during the trip, or just doing photo dumps every few days, or what. Feel free to weigh in on that as well.

Fair warning: this post is about weight, and weight loss. If that scares/offends/triggers unhealthy reactions for you, please come back tomorrow or the day after for a more home-decor related post.

May also means that time is marching onward and I have not met my vacation weight loss goal (numbers: undisclosed) but in fact I gained two pounds since December. Two whole pounds, you say! Oh the humanity! I’ll just say that my weight is frustratingly consistent. I am extremely grateful that I do not gain, but frustrated that despite my best efforts I do not lose, either.

This morning as I bolted out the door with my “breakfast,” a cup of coffee (with milk, always) and a mini wheel of cheese, I thought of one of my favorite quotes from The Devil Wears Prada (love the movie, detest the novel).

It’s for Paris, I’m on this new diet. Well, I don’t eat anything and when I feel like I’m about
to faint I eat a cube of cheese. I’m just one stomach flu away from my goal weight.

Well, I am going to Paris, but despite the evidence of my meager breakfast I am not on this particular diet. Let me state the obvious: it’s not healthy!

I have made a last-minute May resolution: work out 5 days a week. Yikes. As one who rates exercise right down there with mopping the floor (our entire house is tile or wood, too), I don’t want to do it but it must be done. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up liking it. Yesterday I stairmastered my way through half an issue of Real Simple. Perhaps I can justify my magazine addiction by equating it with exercise motivation? Maybe?

As for my “diet,” I’ll let you in on a little secret. Lots of vegetables, some meat, and I could probably make real progress just by cutting out some bread and pasta, but who wants to do that?

Any tips for one who wants to diminish her “spare tire” in six weeks?

Guess What…

This was a great weekend.

I mean, aside from the fact that I spent more than half of the weekend hours in bed trying to get over a cold (for someone like me who never gets sick, even a little cold feels like the end of the world), this was a great weekend.

Why?

Let me show you…

FINALLY!

YES!

WE’RE GOING!

This trip finally feels like a reality, and I finally feel like I can function like a normal human being instead of being nervously preoccupied with passport delays, ticket prices going up, etc. Phew!! Now I can focus on planning what sights we need to see, where we need to eat, and what I’m going to wear! Oh yeah, and going back to the Y after my illness-induced hiatus to work on getting in shape. I don’t want to cringe when I look at my vacay pictures! Luckily I have a few months between now and then to work on my bod and to work on getting to know our new camera beauty!

PS: One of my FAVORITE bands, Delta Spirit, has a new album coming out. Stream it now courtesy of Rolling Stone.

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