San Diego

So, this blog is way overdue. This year for my (our) birthday, we (Morg and Mal) flew down to San Diego to visit our very best friend, Brittany. Britt had a fun yet relaxing weekedn planned for us. Friday we started with pedicures. We made appointments at the cutest little spa called Mingle. The 3 of us enjoyed our pedicures with a glass of champagne! So relaxing and a great way to start the weekend.












































Later that day we enjoyed walking around Pacific Beach. We had lunch at a little cafe called Zanzibar and shopped at all sorts of cute stores. We ended up on the beach where I have to admit was a little chili. That night Brit cooked us a yummy dinner at home and we spend the eveining drinking drinks and catching up with each other.

The next day we spend in Down Town San Diego. We started off at the Gas Lamp Tavern and had some yummy snacks and of course some yummy drinks. Then we headed to the coolest bar called Vin De Syrah. It's a Wine and Spirits parlor in down town SD. It has this very unique Alice in Wonderland feel to it. I've never been to such an interesting kind of bar before. It was so creative!




















Later that evening we had dinner on the top of the Marriott hotel. The top of the hotel over looked the Padres stadium. It was so cool!






















At about 10pm the top of the Marriot turned into a night club. We only last an hour before we left. LOL






















Our flight left at about 5pm on Sunday, so we had a half day to play. We went to Belmont Park which is sort of like a mini carnival on the beach. We decided to ride the roller coaster which was SUPER fun! LOL I cant remmember the last time I rode a roller coaster. We did some more shopping and spend a little bit more time at the beach.


























Then we were off to the airport to go home. Good friends! Good Times! It was a great birthday weekend!

Van Damme 11'

Every year the Costellos/Carrolls (AKA Cartello’s) gets together for a camping trip at Van Damme in the most charming town of Mendocino. This year there were about 30 friends and family members of the Cartello’s who attended. We rented the ‘Group’ campsite to accommodate such a large group.

Not only were we camping, we were also celebrating the 30th birthday of my sister in-law and friend, Becky! It was a great celebration that included champagne, chocolate covered strawberries and gifts! It was a good time!

On this trip, some of the guys went abalone diving in the ocean. The campground is literally right across the street from the ocean. The men return with the abalone and prepare it for dinner the next night!

While some of the men are abalone diving, the rest of us spend some of the day on the beach.

This was little man’s (aka baby Andrew’s) first camping trip! He was such a trooper and seemed to really enjoy the camping environment.

It was a great camping trip and we're always looking forward to next year!!

♥ morgiegirl6@blogspot.com ♥

Napa

Mike, being the social butterfly he is, made friends with our new neighbors, Drew and Ginny. One chat led to another and we found out our new neighbors were married, our age, did not have kids and were Christians. In fact, we they had visited our church a few times since they moved to the area! We all made plans to go to church together one Sunday. Since then, we’ve gone to church together almost every weekend. Mike and I were not able to make it to church one weekend because were visiting friends in San Fran. However, Drew and Ginny went and became aware of a marriage retreat the church was hosting in Napa. The 4 of us decided to attend the marriage retreat and make a weekend out of it! We went to several wineries and some super yummy restaurants.

Below is a picture of the 4 of us at Cosentino Winery.

















Mike purchased a bottle of their wine and I enjoyed tasting their wine!











































Right next store was this delicious restaurant called Mustard Grill. Mustards was named for the wild mustard flowers that bloom in the vineyards every spring. So pretty! Below are some pictures.






















Then we went to the Robert Mondavi Winery which was absolutely gorgeous!!

















Next we went to Cake Bread Winery. Unfortunately they were booked with reservations so we weren’t able to taste any of their wine. However, we did take advantage of their pretty scenery for some cute pictures!



















Next door was Rutherford Grill! Yummy good food!



















Then we headed over to the BV Winery for some more wine tasting. Lovely BV wine glasses for tasting.

















Below is Drew pouring a glass of wine from a HUGE bottle! LOL!


















Then we headed to the Castello di Amorosa. We didn’t have time to tour this winery but we did get to visit their gift shop and it was super cool! Very medieval like atmosphere.


















Our final stop was at Sterling Winery. This winery was unique as we had to take a tram up to the actual winery. It was so awesome riding the tram and seeing the beautiful view of Napa.

















We were greeted with a glass of wine to enjoy while we gave ourselves a tour of the winery. Along the way we followed the winemaking process as they had flat-screen TV at each stop that provided detailed explanations of how they make their wine. I was really fun!

















Super fun and needed weekend away with good friends!

♥

Dont worry about anything...

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
-Philippians 4:6-7

Valentine's Day 2011

This year for Valentine’s Day, Mike and I laid low. We stayed home and Mike cooked a fantastic meal and then we watched the Gramies. As simple as that sounds, spending Valentine’s Day at home with the one I love is just as good (if not better) than going to a fancy restaurant (even though a fancy restaurant is great sometimes). Being home, in my jammies, arranging flowers while Mike cooked, was just right!

My pretty flower arrangement below:



Here’s Mike putting Blue Cheese butter on top of our New York steaks! Oh Heaven!


Yummy Veggies and bakers in the oven!


Shrimp sautéing in the pan!


Valentines dinner plate! Of course I could only eat half but it was amazing!!


And our wedding gift from Crate and Barrel for registering with them. Champagne flutes shaped like a hearts!



♥morgiegirl6.blogspot.com♥

Kitty Hair Cut

My cat Kitty (yes her name is Kitty) was known to have really bad hairballs and would throw up almost every day. She has a very tender tummy…poor girl! We tried many things to prevent the hairballs such as a special food diet, extra grooming and this Vaseline type substance that’s suppose to help pass the hairball. We finally decided the most obvious solution was to get rid of the hair. So, we took Kitty to get groomed.


Grooming Kitty seemed to be the solution to her hairball problems! No more vomit or hairballs, EVER! We decided to get creative with Kitty’s grooming. We pretty much ask for all her fur to be shaved off. With the exception of her main and paws. Here is the final product! LOL Dont let the flowers in the background throw you off.


Below is a picture of her roaming aroung the car on the ride home. They even put cute little bows in her hair!!


And the bows were scratched off in a matter of minutes!


Below is a picture of her acting like a dog! LOL Can you imagine looking at the car next to you at a stop light and seeing a cat?!


In the winter time she gets a little cold, so we frequently see her all buddled up. :) Yes, she did this on her own! Silly girl!



Thats all for now!

♥ morgiegirl6@blogspot.com ♥

Saying Good Bye...

2 of my favorite people in the world have left for a new adventure. My little sister Brittany (no longer little, but still my little sister) and my best friend, also named Brittany. For about 10-15 years I have referred to my sister Brittany as Britt Sis and my friend Brittany as Britt C. I also frequently refer to them both as skank, ho, prostitute, etc….LOL our loving terms endearment that are not true in any way but still fitting at the same time.

Britt Sis got engaged a few weeks ago. Her fiancé Mike lives in Massachusetts, owns a home and is very close with his mother and grandmother. After further discussion they made a mutual decision that it would be best for Brit to move to Massachusetts. Britt, being the free spirit she is, she was up for the adventure! She packed her bags and headed back east. She is even planning on going back to college!! They are currently planning their wedding which should be in the spring of 2012.

Britt C is moving back to San Diego (this time probably permanent, tear) to start a new job and move in with her boyfriend Billy. Throughout high school, our dream was to move to San Diego and live an exciting college life style. That dream fizzled quickly for me since I was broke and my parents were broke, and plus the thought of being that far from my family made me sad. I know right?! A 1 hour plane ride was hardly far away, but I was happy with where I was. Britt however, managed to leave Roseville and started a life in San Diego where she met many friends including her boyfriend Billy. Billy got accepted to firefighter school which is extremely time consuming and gave him no time for a full time job. He moved back home and Britt moved back to Roseville. Billy has now graduated from fire fighting school and they are ready to start fresh. (Keeping my fingers crossed that another engagement is coming!)

Funny how life works! Excluding my sister Mallory, all of my best friends no longer live in this area. Thank God Mallory is here or else I’m sure I would have a nervous breakdown. Britt Sis is in Massachusetts, Britt C is in San Diego and Kassi is in Connecticut. Even though there is physical distance between us all, I know I can call on then any time, morning noon or night, and they would be here for me. I’m so lucky! Good luck ladies!