Looking Back at 2013

2013 has turned out to be my best year yet. My lucky number 13 feels even luckier as I look back and reflect on the past year. Below are my top 10 highlights of 2013:

1). Getting engaged. On January 25th, Dave proposed and it was perfect. I chronicled the weekend here. Six months later we had our engagement photos done by our awesome photographer Josh Elliott.

2). Picking our venue and diving into all the wedding planning. I’m glad Dave and I started early and hit the ground running. I think I have officially overdosed on wedding magazines and wedding Pinterest boards. In April, we chose Terranea as our wedding venue and with each visit, it’s never lost on me how lucky we are to have our wedding there. While I am a city gal, I will always have a love for the ocean.

3) Weekend getaway to Seattle. We got to take in Seattle which I especially fell in love with during this trip. We also got to catch up with our pals Christina H. and Kelly A.

4). Dave moved in. Having never lived with significant others before, this was a first for the both of us. So far so good 🙂

5) Summer vacation at Lake Coeur d’Alene. I look forward to this weeklong vacation every year. It’s so nice to escape city living and hang out on a lake for a week with Dave’s family.

6). Attending the wedding of Amy and Ian. It was so surreal to see two of our good friends getting married. We had a ball celebrating with them in Healdsburg.

7) Completing the Standard Process Cleanse and Turkey Trot. I surprised myself. I completed the cleanse successfully thanks to the support of my acupuncturist and my gal Christine W. who joined me and did the cleanse with me. A couple months later I ran and completed the Turkey Trot 5k with Chris and Alix. I never thought I could do it but thanks to a bet/monetary incentive and the encouragement of Chris, I did it and walked away with $40 and more self-confidence.

8).  Baby Claire was born! My future sister-in-law creates the cutest babies so I couldn’t be more thrilled about the arrival of sweet baby Claire.

9). Mom’s birthday in SF. I always look forward to my mom’s trips to SF which usually involve staying at our beloved Huntington Hotel. This trip we did the SF Ballet’s Nutcracker, Top of the Mark, Big 4, Bistro Central Parc, The Fairmont, my first dress fitting, and mom’s favorite burger (The Tejano) at Roam Burger.

10). Disneyland with Dave at Christmas Time. I hadn’t been to Disneyland since high school and every time I brought it up to Dave, he looked as though it was the last thing he wanted to do. He surprised me though and got us tickets to the park a few days before Christmas. Highlights included Space Mountain, Nightmare Before Christmas-themed Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Carribean, and spinning around in the Teacups while the Christmas parade went on right next to us. I think I may have converted him into a Disneyland-going guy.

I hope everyone has a Happy New Year’s and I’ll see you next year! XOXO

Autumn Haps

I can’t believe it’s almost November 1st! I’ve been trying to cozy up and enjoy one of my favorite seasons of all. I was sipping on my Pumpkin Spice Lattes like there was no tomorrow until I realized how much sugar was in one of those babies and until I started my 21-day cleanse. I am on day 10 which is probably longer than the FiFi (short for fiancee) thought I would last. This may be the longest I have gone without alcohol since I can remember but surprisingly it hasn’t been that bad. No dairy, gluten, sugar, caffeine, meat or fish for the past 10 days. So far this is my favorite recipe I have come across. I decided to do the cleanse after my old acupuncturist sent out an email about it. It spoke to me and my desire to have more energy and not feel as tired…and well to lose some lbs.  I also wanted to prove to myself that I could do it and so far so good.

Saturday I caught up with my old high school friend Irene and we went to one of my favorite food spots in the city (best salads and sandwiches). They actually had a salad (the Fall salad) I could eat on the cleanse (minus the pine nuts) and the Detox salad. Irene and I used to chat for hours in high school. I mean we were “talkers” and it turns out nothing has changed. Check out Irene giving a TED talk below. So proud of her!

Dave and I went to the Half Moon Bay fest this past Sunday with Christine and Brett. We had a ball despite the fact that Christine and I were slurping our protein shakes and eating our veggies (she’s doing the cleanse with me) while the boys pigged out on pumpkin cheesecake and beef sandwiches. She and I both took a pumpkin bread loaf home to freeze so that it will be ready for us post-cleanse 🙂

The wedding is six months away and I’ve got weddings on the brain. I can’t stop watching Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta. I love that show and want to be Lori Allen’s friend in real life. Who’s with me?? Watching the show can be dangerous though especially when you have already purchased your dress. I can’t wait to be reunited with my dress in January when I go for my first fitting. Momma M. is flying to SF for it and I can’t wait for her to see me in it.

Other than that, I am still obsessed with all things Downton Abbey.  Thanks to my new fave blog A Golden Afternoon, I found a way to watch the current season early with the rest of the UK instead of waiting for January to roll around. I am in love with these pictures of Lady Mary on her wedding day to Matthew….

Stunning.

Summer Recap

Ratty’s back after a summer hiatus. I’ve been a bit on auto-pilot these past couple months and feeling a bit behind but now we are in my favorite season of all: Fall! Whether it’s associating Fall with heading back to school or just that the air is crisper, I always feel an urge to renew and refocus when Fall rolls around. Clean the closet, go through the mail and magazines that have been piling up in the corner, dust off the gym shoes. I can’t wait to get my Halloween decorations out! Yes, I am becoming that holiday-crazed lady who tries to recreate sitcom living room sets during the Halloween and Christmas episodes.

I promise to post more regularly here. It’s a busy and exciting time right now. According to our wedding website, I will be a married woman in 237 days or around 8 months. While the summer did go by in a blur, there were many highlights…

Hanging out at Lake Coeur d’Alene for Memorial Day weekend with Mr & Mrs. O

Celebrating Allie Bling Bling’s bday at her beautiful bday brunch….

Shooting our engagement photos with the wonderful Josh Elliott. They ended up being featured on the wedding blog Green Wedding Shoes which we are super excited about…

Having my gal Christa visiting from China and staying with us for a month in July…

(This was one of my favorite days. The gals and I headed across the bridge to explore Petaluma but made a quick stop at the best diner around…The Freemont Diner)

Finding my wedding dress at this wonderful store in Alameda called Janenes and having my gals right there with me when I discovered “the one.” Gotta save the surprise for the big day, so enjoy this image which is from this cringe-worthy Youtube sensation…

Dave and I furnishing and creating our home together in our lil apartment…

 

Amy’s bachelorette partay in Tahoe! After 10 years of living in the Bay Area, I finally went to Lake Tahoe. Woot!

Another trip to beautiful Lake Coeur d’Alene but this time the Champions were there too. Weee! 

This is the end of the pics for now. As I was getting out of the boat on our second to last night at the lake, I accidentally dropped my camera into the lake. Dave dove into the lake and recovered it like a true gent. The camera was destroyed but I am so grateful that I didn’t lose all my pictures. I will miss that camera. I’m saving up to buy the same one.

Heading to Los Angeles tomorrow for my Dad’s bday and some wedding planning fun. Have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo,

Ratty

Miranda Y’all!

“You would think a Slayer concert would be the rowdiest. But no, it’s country music shows that get the craziest.” – Shoreline Amphitheater employee

I saw Miranda Lambert a couple weeks ago and well…yeah it was a shit show. She was great but those country music fans sure do love their drink. I heard this song for the first time and she had this music video playing in the background which I got a kick out of. Enjoy! Oh and if you see the new Life & Style magazine with her on the cover saying that she’s pregnant with kids, it aint true. “I just heard from my agent that there’s another magazine claiming I’m pregnant. I want to point out that I am drinking y’all (holds up her beer koozie). I just love my cheeseburgers.”

Now that’s what I call refreshing y’all!

Weddings Back Then

With our wedding exactly 360 days away, my mom has been going through some old boxes filled with momentos from her own wedding. She sent me the receipt for what her wedding cost back in 1983. All I can say is…..wow. I would have dealt with the 80’s bad hair and heinous fashion if it meant things were this good and cheap—–>

Thanks to inflation and 30 years, a wedding at this same venue would cost about 13xs that.

Ok For Real This Time

Alright Ratty Readers! Raton is about to get a little personal on this here blog. Thanks to my trainer Ms. Tammy Foxx ‘s suggestion, I am going to share my weight loss goal with you so that I can be more “accountable.” Sure I have told friends about my weight loss goals. Sure I have told family about my goals (or they have told me what my goal should be…hi mom!). BUT I have not told the blog world- all 3 of my faithful readers.

So basically with a gym membership (I don’t even want to admit how many times I have gone in the last year…it’s sad people) and my trainer, there aint no more f*cking around. Also, if looking fab in my wedding dress next year is not enough incentive, I don’t know what is.

I will be tracking my progress here each week and by June 25th, I hope to be down 13 lbs. 13 is my lucky number. The overall goal is to be down 20 but I want to be healthy and not crash-diet.

So this means no more of the following:

• Eating out 5 times a week
• Buying groceries and having them go bad because of the above
• Treating myself (it’s not a treat if it’s every other day)
• Diet Cokes
• Convenient snacks in the work kitchen (no mas Cheezits!)
• Drinking too much
• Burritos on the weekly
• Indulging my sauce addiction- no you do not need ranch with pizza
• Using San Francisco and city-living as an excuse

And more of the following:

• Exercising at least 4 times a week
• Walk breaks during the work day
• Eating vegetables and fruit regularly
• Drinking LOTS of water
• Cooking regularly
• Stretching
• Vitamins
• Home work-outs
• Working out in the morning

Ratty’s for real this time. Stay tuned!

Current Obsessions

Downton Abbey: I know I’m VERY late to the game when it comes to Downton but I started watching this past weekend and I was completely blown away. Mary & Matthew forever! I’m currently on Season 2 Episode 1 and trying to avoid doing any research on the show so that I don’t stumble across any spoilers. A waiter told me I looked like a young Elizabeth McGovern so naturally I had to look her up. Who knew the Countess of Gratham was once engaged to Mr. Sean Penn?

Cold War Kids: I feel like I’ve been out of touch with the music scene over the past year but I am completely in love with the Cold War Kids new album Dear Miss Lonelyhearts especially the song “Water & Power”  I will definitely be seeing them May 23rd at the Regency Ballroom. Who’s coming with?

Montana & Wyoming: Some may dream of sandy beaches and tropics but I day dream about going to one of these rugged  states. I sent away for a brochure to Paws Up Resort and well every page made me want to go even more. I hope I can go to WY or MT and live in a cabin for a week, ride horses during the day, and cozy up to the fireplace with a little whiskey and a good book (ok maybe no whiskey since I don’t fair well when I try to drink and read).

Dancing with the Stars: Team Zendaya and Val all the way. He’s got swag for days and she’s crazy talented. I’m still convinced there may be a love brewing between these two despite the fact that she’s 16 and he’s 26. How did I not discover this show sooner? The drama! The celebs! Andy Dick! Our  new Tuesday gals night ritual ❤

I must have watched this dance at least 10 times. I never had much interest in dancing or dancers but all of a sudden I want to be on the MTV’s MADE so that I can try to transform into a professional dancer. I’ve also been obsessively listening to the One Republic song they dance to (“Feel Agan”). I’m convinced this is the song I want to use for our wedding video ❤

XOXO,

Ratty

Oscars Rundown

I thought the Oscars fell flat this year. Seth Macfarlane proved to the world that he is better suited staying behind the cameras and The Onion had probably one of the worst F-ups I’ve heard of. Who the hell thinks it’s funny to call a 9 year old girl the C-word?  Apparently some d-bag at  The Onion who is now probably VERY fired. Despite the snooze/cringe fest that was the 2013 Oscars, I can always count on the fashion and photo perusing the day after…

“Best Dressed Award” As usual, these  two gals are always on the top of my fashion love list….

“Biggest Pleasant Surprise” award goes to Miley Cyrus. I never in a million years thought I would ever say this girl looked great but well…never say never.

“Best Partiers” I would love to drink with these ladies…

“Biggest Sweetheart” goes to Mr. Ang Lee. I gotta see Life of Pi!

Who knew Borat was actually somewhat attractive in real life but what’s up with the pinky ring?

John Hamm mad dogging someone…

Dopey Zooey bringing a new look that I’m kind of liking although I still cannot stomach watching New Girl…

Amy Adams looking stunning again…

While I love awards shows, I’m glad this season is over….mostly because it means I will not have to listen to another cringe-worthy, nausea-inducing speech from this annoyance…

As Q. Tarantino so eloquently said in his speech last night…

PEACE OUT!

The Best Weekend of My Life

On Friday morning at Muir Beach Overlook, David Opel asked me to be his girl for life. What I thought would be another great weekend in wine country ended up being the best weekend of my life. It started like this: It was Friday morning (we had both taken the day off ) and we went to our favorite breakfast spot on Divisadero, the glorious Eddies! I remember thinking that for all the years I had frequented Eddie’s, these were the best  mugs they’d given me to date…

We hit the road for what I thought was a trip to Guerneville and a stay at the Applewood Inn. Turns out D. Opel had been making some fake elaborate plans for the past couple months to throw me off. We headed across the Golden Gate Bridge and he said he wanted to show me this place with a cool view called Muir Beach Overlook…

It was one of the prettiest places I had seen and growing up in a California coastal town, that isn’t an easy feat. The weather was completely perfect and we were the only people there. I was so taken aback by how beautiful the place was that I took this picture of Dave. Despite my private Pinterest board and my obsession with TLC wedding shows, I can honestly say that in that moment I had no idea what he was about to do….

We walked to the very end of the overlook trail looking at the sea and I turned around and he got down on a knee ❤

Yay self-timer camera…

We headed to The Marshall Store in Tomales Bay to celebrate!

Doing his best Ryan Gosling pose by the rental car…

We got back on the road and it was then that he told me we weren’t going to Guerneville but Yountville instead. We had spent our anniversary there last year at a cute little B&B and I fell in love with the charming fairy tale-like town. He then proceeds to tell me that we’ll be staying at Hotel Yountville  and having dinner at Auberge de Soleil. Holla! I then asked him where we were having dinner the following night and he says French Laundry to which I said “Shut the f*ck up!” Closest I had been to going to French Laundry was just sitting on the bench across the street looking at their garden. I remember thinking that I must go there before I die. We’ll get to the FL a little more later! First, I informed Dave that I had not packed well enough for the French Laundry and being the gentleman that he is, he was patient with me while I made a mad dash around the Napa Premium Outlets. We got to the hotel and then went to dinner at Auberge where we had the best table in the place.

The next morning we had a breakfast room service picnic in our hotel room and then took a stroll around Yountville…

Dave geeked out over the French Laundry garden…

We stopped and smelled the roses…

We walked around some more and had a light lunch at Bardessono where we drank a very pretty cocktail and  ate some really good shrimp

Headed back to the hotel for a nap and then at around 9pm we walked over to the French Laundry. No biggie!

Trying to be cool, we only snuck two pictures inside. One of which was this cheese dish from heaven….

The French Laundry has a lot of hype surrounding it. After eating there on Satuday, the hype is 1000% warranted. It was without a doubt the best meal and dining experience of my life. I was afraid it would be stuffy but our server was friendly and made us feel comfortable right away. I also appreciated how they paced the courses. It’s one of the only times I’ve left a restaurant feeling great after eating rich food and multiple courses. Our waiter was so nice that a round of our wine was compliments of the house and a congratulations on the engagement. He also gave us a tour of the kitchen after our meal. It was surreal going back there, seeing Thomas Keller’s office, and watching all of the chefs huddling around planning the next day’s menu. The French Laundry doesn’t need to go out of their way to make a young couple feel special on their engagement weekend, but they did. And that combined with their glorious food makes French Laundry my favorite restaurant of all time.

The next morning we got some pastries at Bouchon. All weekend it seemed we were lucky and always 15 minutes ahead of the crowd. We had Muir Beach Overlook to ourselves for a whole 15 minutes and by the time we walked back up the trail, there were crowds of people coming. We had no line for Bouchon and 15 minutes later there were 30 people lining up to get into the bakery.

And then there’s the ring! All weekend I kept staring at my ring which I am in LOVE with. Turns out all those times Dave expressed no interest in my Pinterest or rings, he was actually paying a lot of attention and with the help of a jeweler in San Diego he designed this crazy beautiful ring…

When I left my house on Friday morning, I didn’t realize what the weekend had in store for me. I’m still floating on cloud nine and will be for a while. I can’t wait to marry my best friend and the love of my life. David Opel, you are my guy and I am the luckiest girl in the world that you chose me.

(I had no idea when this picture was taken 4 years ago that I was sitting next to my future husband)

Golden Globes

Last night’s Golden Globes did not disappoint. My favorite awards show of the year, I popped a mini bottle of Korbel (so glam I know!), turned on the space heater and took it all in. I think I love the pre-show the most especially watching all the awkwardness that ensues between Seacrest and the celebs (anyone see dumb rock Megan Fox throw insults at Ryan?). Or what about Taylor Swift’s sore loser/bitch face when she lost to Adele? How about the shit show also known as Quentin Tarantino and his extra cringe-worthy speech? I was super excited that Lena Dunham was the night’s big winner. It’s odd to see someone so normal-looking up on that stage. She’s a breath of fresh air. Speaking of which, I thought Tina and Amy were the best hosts the show has seen in a while. See below for my thoughts on the biggest winners and losers of the very golden evening——>

Best Hosts:

Best Dressed:

Prettiest Couple:

 

Most Fun/Who I Would Want To Hang Out With…

Biggest Jackass/Worst Speech

Worst Dressed

Biggest Sore Loser

Winner of the Most Annoying Soul at the Golden Globes…