Because Everyone Wants To Know.

I know, I know.  I'm still not caught up.  But life keeps happening and then I discover fun little diddies like this gem!

This is me (ok, it's not me, but everyone calls me Zooey these days) singing with Joseph Gordon Levitt.  It's absolutely adorable and I'm pretty sure she's wearing the Calvin Klein dress I planned on wearing tomorrow for New Year's Eve, haha!  Maybe I'll just add a tiara.  Why not?

How Can I NOT Love This?!

Ok, I know I have TONS to catch up on but when I got word form Ingrid's Facebook last week that she did a cover of my obsessive song, I HAD to share it with all of you!

Yes, even though it's been almost 2 months since I shared the original (see previous post), the song "Somebody That I Used To Know" is still in my head!  And btw, it's a really good song to workout to!

So without further ado, here is my favorite female artist singing my current obsessive song!

Enjoy!

Song of the Day #327

My dear friend from Australia shared this song with me on facebook. I love it! Sometimes you just find a song and listen to it on repeat all day long. Ok, well I do!

Anyway, I never heard f this band until Pippy posted it. I absolutely love it and I love her for sharing it! The video is also so fantastic and so artsy. It's fun to watch! Enjoy!

It's a Reunion, Y'all!

It has been a year since I saw my dear friend Amanda, which was during the craziness of her wedding, so there wasn't really any hanging out time.  As you may recall, she and Jason moved to Texas and got married there.  They even bought a house in Houston!  (I'm very proud of them.)  But since I wasn't able to do much touristy fun, I decided it was high time I did.  This time, I invited my friend Stephanie, who recently relocated to Ohio, to fly down and play too!

Me:  "Amanda!  How will we ever recognize each other?  It's been sooo long!"

Amanda: "Well, I'll be the girl wearing glasses waiting in Baggage Claim for you."

Me:  "Maybe we should wear flowers in our hair so as not to miss one another."

(Reunited and it feels so good! Steph, me, Amanda.)

(Steph and I.  Let's do this!!)

The reunion started immediately in the airport.  I found Amanda and Jason and popped both of their heads off with a giant hug.  We waited for Steph and as we did, Amanda and I had to turn away as a military dad was reunited with his wife a young son.  And then another returned military man meeting his own family.  Brings tears to my eyes every time.  As soon as Steph came down the elevator, we were off to our first stop!

That's right, Jason wanted to take us somewhere he'd been dying to go: Menchies frozen yogurt.  YUM! We then drove back to the Chan house and were very impressed by the new home owners' new abode.  I must admit, seeing amanda and Jason in their own home, able to design and decorate however they will only made me long to buy a house even more.  This has been in my mind for over a year now, but this only made me want it more.

(A pretty successful shopping trip!)

The few days we were there we did 3 main things: Eat, Talk and Shop.  What else do you need in a vacation, really? :)  We hit the outlets and let's just say we all did really well there.  We hit pretty much every restaurant Amanda and Jason wanted to hit up.  And by the way, yes, the food in Texas is SO yummy!!  Mmmm, now I'm craving meat...  Good thing we're celebrating Adam's birthday tonight and he wanted BBQ!  Funny how that works!

(Breakfast at Whataburger!)

(Our wonderful hosts, Amanda and Jason.)

Another fun event was The Star Wars Exhibit.  I love Star Wars so I was super excited when Amanda asked if this was something I'd be interested in.  Steph ended up getting sick during breakfast so we dropped the poor girl off at the house and were on our way.  It was super cool!  They had models of all of the ships, costumes and all sorts of fun stuff!  They even had the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon as a ride simulator!  Pretty rad, I must admit.  I love this kind of stuff. :D

(In the cockpit of The Millennium Falcon! So cool!)

(That is one tall dude, that Darth Vader!)

(Sweet little Piggy... erm, Yoda.  Sorry, wrong Frank Oz character!)

One of the only things (aside from all of the above) that I REALLY wanted to do was drive to The Gulf and touch the water.  I have never been in that part of the ocean and I NEEDED to experience it.  Everyone told me it wouldn't be worth it, but you know what?  It absolutely was worth it.  I love being in new places I've never been to.  Even if it hadn't been as gorgeous as it had been, I would have loved it!  We drove to Galveston and wow, I don't know if you know about the history of the hurricane of 1900.  It caused the most deaths out of any natural disaster -- 6,000 deaths to be exact.  You can see some of this history as you drive through the town.  It's just incredible.  And yes, that Stone House you hear about is still standing!

(A beautiful day at the Gulf!)

We had such a great time.  Even if part of it was watching youtube videos hours on end, we still had such a blast just being with each other again, laughing and laughing and laughing!  Man, I love my girls. I am so happy to say that even thought we're all miles and miles apart (and were when I was in Hawaii), we're still super tight and talk to each other very often.  

It sucks to grow up and move, but that doesn't mean we can't remain friends and stay in touch.  It's amazing how technology has made it even easier!  So if there's someone you are close with, but it's been a while, why not take a quick minute to email/text/call/facebook/tweet them?  Because really?  There's no excuse not to. :)

A-Squared.

(The girls! Roo, Traci and Kate, Gi, Ash, Me, Jady, Zoe, Steph, Tiffer and Nix.)

My baby sister, Ashley got married on August 27th to her husband Adam.  It's always fun gaining a brother in my life.  After all, I grew up with only one of them and so it's fun to add more to our fold.  Adam fits right in too, as well as his family!

(Baby Kate meeting Roo for the first time.)

(Cousins: Annie Pie, Roo and Jady.)

(Owen and Roo playing Brick Breaker on my phone.)

(Baby Kate!)

(My favorite face of Annie Pie's EVER!  Haha, makes me laugh every time.)

We all flew up to Portland and stayed with VJ and his family.  This was definitely no vacation, but hard work prepping for the wedding.  But being together as a whole family once again mad it so much fun!  Especially since all of the babies were together for the first time with Nixie and Kate!  Nothing like a wedding to bring everyone together again! :D

(Tiffer and I practicing in our heels while baking cupcakes.)

(The rehearsal dinner was at Mother's.  Such a fabulous place, I highly recommend it!)

The wedding took place at Adam's parents' gorgeous ranch.  They got married underneath a big tree with the horses and goats roaming in the background.  The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was fun with lots of good people, goat cheese and dancing.

(Blue shoes: Traci, Gina, Me, Tiffer.)

(The beautiful bride and her big sister.)

(Best cousins, Jady and Annie Pie.)

(Mom watching the first dance. Dad in his pimp fedora.)

(Me and Jady with the girl of the hour -- or 3 weeks in her case, lol!)

(Tiffer giving her speech full of silly Ashley stories.)

(Owen showing his mom, Tru, his dance moves.)

(Seanie, Nix and me.  Nails.)

(Note to self, don't do sparklers as the happy couple are leaving.  Things caught on fire and everyone was coughing because of all the smoke!)

On September 10, we had an open house at my parents' house.  It was so much fun seeing everyone there!  There were some ladies I hadn't seen in years, such as old teachers from church and my cousins and aunties.  And of course, more babies.

Ashley and Adam headed out to Reno where they are now living and I already miss my little sister so much.  It's always so much when we're around each other because she's so similar to me.  Maybe I'm just immature.  It's possible that that's why we get along so well, haha!

Congrats to A-Squared!  I cannot wait to see what adventures are in store for you!  Xoxo!

Summer Fun!

I know, I know.  It's been WAY too long since I actual wrote something about myself and what's going on in my life.  I apologize.  Life has been VERY busy with lots of changes!

Let's catch up on Hollie's Summer Fun, 2011.  I'll just add some highlights aside from the beach, the pool, Disneyland, my tan, etc.

July 4th:
There is no place I'd rather be on July 4th than in my hometown of Huntington Beach.  I have been lots of places for this holiday but NONE compare to HB!

This year, Ashley and her fiance, Adam flew down from Oregon to celebrate with us.  Most of the day was full of lounging, eating and pool fun.  Maybe throw a nap in there as well. ;)  Just before 7:00 pm, we loaded our bikes into Chris's truck and were off towards the beach.  We parked the card and prepped our bikes and blankets (yes, it's still a little chilly in the month of July to me -- no surprise, really) and were off to the the beach!  There's something amazing about riding a bike along the beach as the sun is going down over the horizon.

(Auntie Ash meets Baby Kate!)

(Let's do this!)

(Adam jumps in to help unload.  What a gentleman!)

(Team Jones!)

(Gi, Green and Traci with a romantic sunset background.)

(The rents and I are ready for some fireworks!)

(All the single ladies!  Me, Gi and Green (Chris in the background))

We ended up on Dog Beach and walked our bikes towards the water and found a spot for the big show. This year, we were joined by Traci and Chris's little girl, Kate.  It was her first 4th of July and she had a blast!  I know it's hard to tell in the pictures, but she did.  I promise.  In fact she's in for more fun and get together as she grows older with us. :)  The fireworks began and everyone was in awe at the spectacular show.  It's just under the Disneyland fireworks shows to me.  Just spectacular!

Runs N Goses' Final Show:
I have a bunch of friends that I've known since high school.  They've always played shows and had their various bands, playing various types of music.  They're all very talented and oh, so much fun!

(Runs N Goses)

One of the "projects" that decided to do was a Guns N Roses cover band.  They played a lot of shows, always with a full house.  It was always SO much fun!  They did a great job and poor Rob was always hoarse for 3 days after busting out his version of Axl Rose vocals.  But he put on a great front after studying live performances of the band.  He even got the hips/body swing thingy (I don't know what to call it) down.  AND they all dressed up like the band members, including Gash (Slash).

(Jr. High School BFF and Rachel. First reunion since elementary school!)

(Krista and Paul came out to see what the fuss was about.)

(I like to force Cassie to take pictures.)

(The groupies!)

They played their last show late July.  Now when I say their "last show" I mean their last show until they decide to do a reunion show a few years down the road.  Haha!  I'm pretty sure this is their 3rd last show but we'll see.

(I'm with the band.  Ryan and Doug here.  Oh and my 5 inch heels.)

Steph's visit:
I was so lucky to be able to join up with my dear friend Stephanie when she came down for a few days to visit.  She moved to Ohio a couple of months ago and we all miss her dearly.  I've known this wonderful girl since I started working at ACC.  She is one of the smartest, loveliest women I have ever met and I am so blessed to have her as a friend!  I miss her dearly but get to meet up with her when I go to Texas this next coming weekend. ;)

(My ACC girls!  Me, Danielle, Jaime, Steph and Karen.)

Brudencosas in the house:
The most recent excitement this summer is the return of Tiffer and her family to Huntington Beach!  (Well, that and Ashley and Adam's wedding, but that gets a separate post.)  Anyhoo, Seanie has been accepted into officer training and so the girls have moved into my parents' house for a few months until they make a big move to Wyoming, their next adventure!  Personally, I am very excited to visit Wyoming again as it has so much beauty and places I haven't been to yet!  Yay!

(Jaiden loves to cheese for the camera!)

And so I get to be with Jaiden and Nixe and play with them and watch them as they grow older.  I cannot wait to see their new experiences and learn new things.  I cannot wait to take them to Disneyland and buy them toys and all the things an auntie does!  It'll be so much fun to have them here with baby Kate and watch them interact and have so much fun as cousins!  YAY!

(Jaiden and Nixie.  So excited to have them here!)

Big Move:
Oh yes.  Last but not least, I moved!  I was having such a difficult time with the new roommate that I had to get out.  I relocated to Long Beach in Belmont.  I now live in an apartment by myself and absolutely LOVE it!  I have missed the ocean air and the beach city life.  I can now walk to the beach from my apartment, walk to local shops and restaurants, and even walk to Junior High School Friend's (Jamie) apartment!  I am moving on up and I LOVE it!!! :D :D :D

(Cousins!  Nix, Jady and baby Kate visiting my new apartment.)

And so, that is the latest.  Those have been the highlights of the summer since Costa Rica.  Very memorable times.  All in all, it's been a great summer and I cannot wait to see what else lies ahead!

I'll be honest though...  After seeing all of the Halloween stuff and the blazing heat everywhere I go, I'm ready for fall!