Good-bye 2012, Hello 2013

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Erin

Good-bye 2012, Hello 2013

By Erin

As the clock ticks away into the first hours of the new year, one often wonders what the New Year has in store. Maybe this year will change your destiny. Perhaps you are meandering through the path of life, seeking answers to your deepest issues. Whatever your future may be, you must welcome the New Year with an open heart and open mind. Make the best of today, so that your tomorrows can be better. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do right now. TODAY! Otherwise you’ll be in the exact same spot you are right now, this time NEXT YEAR in 2014 wondering the EXACT.SAME.THINGS.

“The past is behind, learn from it. The future is ahead, prepare for it. The present is here, live it.”–Thomas S. Monson

I love that quote immensely, and it fits the new year and all of its hopes, dreams, and desires that it brings all of us perfectly.

So first the past. Here is my recap of 2012 in pictures. I am still in my first year of blogging, so I am going to start with the month of April, since that’s when my blog was “born” and came into this world. On April 10th, 2012 to be exact. Along with Mary’s brainchild, Along Comes Mary.

APRIL 2012

Horsing Around In LA was created.

In 2012 I wanted to explore more tea houses, salons, and rooms. I was able to visit quite a few of them! This is something I wish to explore further in 2013. So far my favorite place for tea is Paris In A Cup in Orange, CA. Their Summer in Paris tea has won me over.

I was able to make great use of my Disneyland Annual Pass in 2012.

I was able to partake in a fun ocean adventure on a sailboat.

MAY

A fun day was spent at the spa in Glen Ivy with friends for my birthday.

Allie joined the barn. I LOVE this horse!!!! <3 🙂

Stroll & Savor adventures on 2nd Street that I look forward to every year in Long Beach. If you are a foodie like me, then you have to check this out!

JUNE

Celebrating my Grandparents 65th Wedding Anniversary and my Grandma’s 90th Birthday

A yearly tradition I hope to continue into 2013! Our 3rd annual Girl’s trip out to the river! So much fun!! 🙂

Lake Havasu/River Trip with the Girls

Disney Fireworks. Yes, I went there a lot this year! I just can’t get enough Disney in my life. 😉

JULY

What kind of Disney fan would I be without a trip to go visit Carsland at Disney during the summer?

I was lucky to be able to fly out to Minnesota/North Dakota for 2 weeks to go visit family. This was at my cousin Bethany’s wedding in Medora, North Dakota. It was a beautiful wedding, fit for a princess. White Horses and Carriage included. 😉

Out at my Uncles Farm House in Minnesota. Can you see why I love it out here?

An Experience of a Lifetime at a Dodger Game with fellow friends and bloggers, Jamie & Mary for one of their blogger nights.

AUGUST

Of course, to be fair, we had to hit up an Angel’s game as well!

Trip out to the Black Hills, South Dakota for an exciting celebration for another cousin getting married by spending the week before in an amazing cabin in the hills! This is a place I want to come back to! The cabins here were just out of this world. Wish I could live in one of them!

The Cabin

The Lovely Couple Erin & Andrew at their wedding.

The Wedding Party

Crafted–Blogger Event At Crafted. Tons of hand-made goods that are made local here in the Los Angeles, CA area.

SEPTEMBER

We made it down to the Los Angeles Equestrian Center to watch a Grand Prix. This gorgeous Friesian horse and his rider performed during the National Anthem and after the event. I just love how beautiful they both are turned out! I would LOVE a headstall as shiny and blingy as this guy has to go riding around in.

OCTOBER

One thing I have been wanting to go to was to Disney’s Halloween Party. This year I was finally able to make that happen.

The year of weddings. My good friend from college, Kellie and her new hubby Ryan. I wish one of them were my own… but no such luck there…

Be on the lookout for a post on Grimmway Farms soon! I was ever so blessed to be able to visit them up in Bakersfield, CA and I learned all about carrots and where much of our produce comes from in CA! This was definitely a highlight of my year in 2012 as I LOVE the country/farm life and food in general if you have not noticed. It reminded me so much of being back in Minnesota/North Dakota!

NOVEMBER

CHILL!! With fellow blogging buddies Jamie & Mary.

DECEMBER

Another tradition I started and hope to be able to continue is a Holiday Dessert Exchange with friends and family. You get to sample so many tasty goodies and take some home with you. It’s been a highlight of the holiday season for me.

Helping my grandparents get their tree and house ready for Christmas. This was the first year that they weren’t able to do it all by themselves. So I treasured every minute with them since I never know if they will be here with us come next Christmas. Especially since my grandfather has been in the hospital again since this past Sunday evening and was also in the hospital for few days earlier in December. He gave us a major scare back in September when he had to have an emergency brain surgery.

Celebrating Christmas Eve with my grandparents.

There’s nothing like Disney at Christmas time! I love all the decorations, music, and holiday cheer at the happiest place on earth.

In a nutshell that was my year. The good, the bad, the ugly. A lot has been learned and many memories made. May 2013 bring better health to my family and friends, better opportunities, more good times than bad, important lessons learned, and growth in the right direction to make all of our dreams come true. In my next post I will continue with my goals, resolutions, aspirations and where I hope 2013 will take me. As we say our good-byes and close the door on 2012, I say hello to 2013 with open arms.

LA Girl In Minnesota… Guest Post from Jamie–> Minnesota Girl In LA

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Erin

I had also asked Jamie, over at Minnesota Girl in LA to write-up a post for me since I am visiting her home state of Minnesota right now! Here is her wonderful post about fun things to do and see if you are ever in the state of 10,000 lakes… Minnesota!! 🙂

Erin asked me to write about my favorite Minnesota places since she’s out visiting there right now. Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve had to sit down and think about some of my favorite places from the state I grew up in.

I grew up in the Twin Cities area, to be more specific, the southern suburbs. Think Lakeville, Apple Valley, Eagan, Burnsville area, or south of St. Paul.
Some of my all-time favorite places in Minnesota were:

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

Just being able to walk along these gardens during the winter or even the spring time to see what artists would create, or more so, try to pin point what they were thinking was enjoyable for me. And of course, the iconic Cherry in the Spoon Picture.

Cherry and the Spoon

Lake Calhoun

I loved to rollerblade, and often, during the summer I would go to one of the popular Minnesota lakes to rollerblade around. Lake Calhoun became my favorite the year before I decided to move away, but Lake Nokomis was another favorite of mine.

Cosetta’s Italian Deli

I love Italian, and one of my favorite restaurants to visit in Downtown St. Paul was Cosetta’s. It was a very well-known restaurant and deli, and no matter what time of the day it was there was line for their food. They also had a shop where you could take home some of your favorites.

My favorite museums included the St. Paul History museum, The Science Museum, and The Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Mall of America

The biggest mall in the United States was the Mall of America. This mall even had an indoor amusement park inside, what isn’t there to love about it? I use to take the bus after school to just hang out at the mall. Most likely I was a huge part of the reason why a curfew time of 7pm was given to children under 16 years old of age every Friday and Saturday evening.

St. Anthony Falls

It was just a truly beautiful area along Minneapolis to walk along, and of course see the hydraulic falls in action.

Minnehaha Falls and Fort Snelling Area

These places were pretty close to one another although they were usually different visits. The Minnehaha Falls area is a very beautiful area, and of course I loved driving around the houses in the area because they were a sign of the times, and the houses had a ton of character.

Fort Snelling Area

Grand Ave.

This place had some pretty great shops and boutiques to walk through with some great eateries. You can’t go there without stopping in the Grand Ole Creamery. Amazing ice cream served up for you.

Uptown

Another fun little area with shops and boutiques to walk and browse through.

10. The North Shore

During the weekends, if I could, I would love taking the 3 hour drive up north to head to Duluth, MN. I loved looking out at Lake Superior, and of course driving even further north along the north shore. This was truly my zen place of Minnesota. I didn’t get up there often, but anytime I did I was instantly relaxed, and my stress disappeared. These were just some of my favorite things to do in Minnesota, the place I grew up in.

North Shore

Day 22- Can’t Live Without

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Erin

One thing I cannot live without is traveling and exploring this amazing planet with a loved one or with friends. There is nothing better than sharing a new place, trying new foods, exploring a city, making new friends and new memories with family and friends.