socialADDICT

It was the question of the night; last Saturday, September 26 after almost 4 years of dating, Jason popped the question over (literally) a delectable red velvet cake at The WaterGrill in downtown LA; and YES I said YES!!! It was totally unexpected on my part since I was just reminiscing on a wonderful day in LA and enjoying the evening even more with him. I cried of course and he got a little choked up! It was so beautiful and thoughtful! I love you, Jason!

The beginning of the day consisted of driving up to downtown LA on Saturday (and as usual taking way longer than planned - dang parking lot on the 405!), arriving at the FABULOUS Biltmore Hotel, touring the MOCA and watching the RedBull Soapbox Races which took place literally on the same street as the Biltmore.

Biltmore Hotel actually deserves their own blog post (which I will probably write later) but I want to give them major props for the BEST customer experience/service I have ever had at a hotel. Ever. From the moment we booked our reservation all the way through to picking up our car at the Valet - every single employee greeted us with a genuine smile and made sure our every need was met.

Another huge props I have to give is to Leslie, the Marketing Director at the Biltmore. I had initially “met” her on Twitter when she saw me post a comment about booking an rsvp at the prestigious hotel a few months back. She immediately replied back to me with an offer to let her know if there was anything she could do to make our stay more enjoyable. Being a marketer and little bit of an investigator myself, I jumped at the opportunity to mention that “a complimentary bottle of champagne in the room is a good start *smiley face*”. Leslie replied back saying that she would definitely make sure we were “taken care of”. Which is a nice way to leave it open for interpretation - only to my surprise when we arrived in our suite, there was alas! a bottle of chilled champagne and a HAND WRITTEN NOTE from Leslie awaiting our thirsty selves. My, my the power of social media marketing and the people who truly connect their brands and experiences with their customers. What a lasting impression! Thanks again to the Biltmore Hotel for an unforgettable experience!! I cannot say it enough - your customer service and kind gestures will never be forgotten & we plan on staying with you for years and years to come! Learn more about this historic hotel here. Thanks again Leslie - we are most impressed with your Twitter skills and customer service follow through!

Follow the Biltmore on Twitter to get deals & other updates @BiltmoreLA!!

On Sunday we headed over to Santa Monica to eat a scrumptious breakfast on the beach and walk through Third Street Promenade before heading home. What a great weekend together!!

So it’s OFFICIAL! I’m going to be a Mrs.! I’m going to take awhile to start thinking about any plans and just enjoy this time with Jason as my fiance! Thank you to all for your love, well wishes and support! I love you all and cannot wait to start posting more info as it gets planned! Now…where to find Vera Wang dresses in San Diego… XOXO

For more pictures visit my Flickr Stream here.

I haven’t posted any blogs lately because I’ve been on vacation for the last 12 days in The Outer Banks (OBX), North Carolina with Jason and the rest of my family. None of us had ever visited OBX before this trip so we were all super excited. This West Coast girl was ready to experience the East Coast for a change.

The weather was beautiful the entire week! We even experienced a thunderstorm one of the days and I loved it. We don’t get much rain, let alone thunderstorms in Southern California so it was a nice change of pace.

We did all of the touristy stuff you would expect - toured Duck, Kitty Hawk, The Wright Brothers Museum, Roanoke Island, the light houses, etc. I’m actually surprised at how much there IS to actually do out there. It’s definitely worth a trip if you haven’t been - I would suggest staying in Duck. We stayed in Nags Head, which is nice and we had a beach house right on the water, but there isn’t much to walk to (well there was that conveniently located liquor store). Duck has a small downtown where there are shops, ice cream parlors, restaurants, and water sports all in a centralized location, which is really nice.

I have most of the pics up on my Facebook but here are a few! Enjoy!! XOXO

(Yes, I did eat that Snow Crab - and it was gooooood!)

I’ve always been obsessed with Beverly Hills. The mansions, the shopping, the original 90210 - I love the reputation & the eclectic mix of people who make up the area. So this past weekend, Jason and I headed up to Hollywood to visit. We made it up to Rodeo Drive and Melrose. This was my first visit to Rodeo and second to Melrose which is where I got my nose pierced 3 years ago.

We first stopped by Rodeo where we walked down the infamous strip, grabbed lunch, took pictures of the gorgeous walkways and buildings and gawked at the mansions in the surrounding exclusive neighborhoods. Everything about the visit was perfect. Easy parking, driving, and accessibility - except I do have to complain about the prices. Who can afford this stuff?!

Being a LOVER of Chanel, naturally, the address I put as the destination into my navigation was for the Chanel Boutique in the heart of Rodeo. You better believe I made sure to tour the magnificent store - it was AMAZING. The mannequins were dressed & fitted with precision, the store was immaculate and every single Chanel product put a tingle in my stomach. It was my first time in a Chanel Boutique (I bought my Chanel sunglasses & lip gloss at Nordstrom) and it far surpassed my expectations. Even the carpeted stairs were luxurious and of course, pink. I couldn’t take pictures in the store, but I made sure to get a few snapshots with the Chanel sign on Rodeo Dr!

We also headed over to Melrose to shop in the secondhand stores and of course, Fred Segal. I actually found a pair of Tory Burch jeans for $55! JACKPOT! This hippy, eclectic strip of secondhand stores, diners, tattoo parlors and liquor stores is, in my mind, the quintessential personality & experience of LA. There is nowhere else in the world quite like Hollywood.

If it weren’t for the traffic, attitude and smog I would (almost) love LA. Almost.

Check out more of my photos from Beverly Hills on Flickr!

I went up to LA this past weekend to visit Jason’s parents and hang out for the long weekend. While up there we went on a beautiful hike near a local waterfall, went to Malibu and shopped, and relaxed the nights away. It was a perfect get-away! Here are some pics from the trip…can you tell I’m loving this new Nikon??

Check out my flickr stream for more pics…

The family trip this year fell nothing short of my expectations - warm weather & water, sunshine, explorations and booze! As my Mom kept saying (who loves wine): “No more cerveza! Where can I get a good bottle of wine around here?” Playa del Carmen, Mexico is a beautiful little tourist town about 40 miles south of Cancun and just a 20 minute ferry ride away from Cozumel. Even though it was more expensive then the Mexico towns I am used to, it was a clean and beautiful paradise anyone or family can enjoy.

Some great things we did while visiting included snorkeling in Cozumel, visiting the Mayan Ruins in Chichen Itza, day tripping to Cancun (Mexico public transportation FTW!), and laying at the beach drinking mojitos (pretty sure that ice was never filtered water - eek) and chomping down on endless pico de gallo. So is that why I got sick on this trip?!

Enjoy the pics and be jealous of the tan.