Category Archives: Explore

Grilled Cheese and L.A. Hipsters

Posted in Dinner, Explore, Food, Fun, Lunch by

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Location: 3337 West Sunset Boulevard, Silver Lake

The one part of town that I can’t say I spend much time in is with my east side L.A. hipsters (shout out to my friends in Silver Lake and Loz Feliz!). Admittedly, if I’m writing a blog about life in L.A., they should get more of a representation, especially since this side of town is really on the up-and-up and driving a lot of the trends. Luckily, my boyfriend heard through the grapevine about Heywood: A Grilled Cheese Shoppe and we happily crossed through Hollywood-land into Silver Lake territory. What better reason to leave our neck of the woods than to sit outside on a sunny afternoon and indulge in the comfort of a good grilled cheese sandwich? I couldn’t think of one. And the following snapshot of my meal confirmed I made the right decision:

(Feel free to click the picture to see the awesomeness up close and personal). 🙂

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{Caprese:  mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, roma tomatoes and a light walnut pesto spread on sourdough bread. Hello! Yummy!}

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What Pinkberry did for frozen yogurt, Umami did for burgers, and Sprinkles did for cupcakes, Heywood is doing for the universally loved grilled cheese sandwich. You can custom make your own cheesy number or order from the fixed menu. Since grilled cheese and tomato soup are like peanut better and jelly (well – close enough), I thought the spiced tomato soup dipper (delish!) and the spring mix salad rounded out the components for an amazing meal. I have nothing but great things to say about this place (other than the water is clearly not filtered, so prepare for that awesome tap water taste – yuck!).

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{Interior.}

Finally, good news for my wheat intolerant and vegan friends, Heywood thought of you too with gluten free bread and vegan cheese and butter options. Even better news for late night partiers, those leaving that poetry reading with nowhere to go, the girl who didn’t want to eat on her first date in front of the man of her dreams, or those who just need some comfort food, Heywood is open until 3am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I’ll see you there!

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Highlights

Posted in Accessories, Explore, Fashion, Food, Fun, Treats by

It’s a dreary, rainy Friday here in L.A. Looking forward to spending the weekend catching-up with a girlfriend over pizza, sweets, and Sex and the City episodes; heading to yoga to hit reset, and spending some time with my boyfriend. Have an amazing weekend gang. It’s going to be a wet one here.

2013 is off to a great start! Closing the week with a few special moments over the last two weeks into the new year that have made it all the better:

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{Catching up with some old friends over a game of bowling and cocktails at Lucky Strike.}

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{I lost my beloved Ray-Ban aviators. Boo! Luckily, my amazing boyfriend replaced them as a gift on our 2nd anniversary last week. Yay!}

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{…And gave me this magical orchid to look at.}

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{The immaculate sunset on the drive home from Big Bear.}

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{Getting into the new year’s resolution spirit by returning to yoga practice.}

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{Sharing a Sunday snack while watching the 49ers beat out the Falcons for a place at the Superbowl.}

New Year’s Eve with Señor Fred

Posted in Dinner, Explore, Food, Fun, Treats by

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Location: 13730 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks

With the Christmas season and our Carmel getaway behind me, one last important celebratory holiday milestone to go – New Year’s Eve. My boyfriend and I decided to keep it very low key this year, with an intimate dinner at Señor Fred Restaurant in Sherman Oaks; followed by a casual movie night at home with a Martinelli’s Apple Cider toast at midnight.

Señor Fred offers a perfect dark sexy ambiance, balanced with delectable Mexican cuisine. Since it was New Year’s Eve, the expectation was that every restaurant in town was going to be pretty packed. God bless Open Table! We put in for an 8:00pm reservation and when I called the restaurant to check to see if they were only serving a prix-fixe menu or if patrons could order from the regular menu as well, I was less than enthused by the guy who answered the phone. He wasn’t rude exactly, but told me that he thought he had blocked off all Open Table reservations during the 8 o’clock hour, so that people entering after 9:00pm would be charged the $10 cover for the night.

I almost wanted to cancel my reservation altogether when he told me that as long as we were done between 9:30pm-10:00pm it should be fine. While this seemed like plenty of time to finish our meal, the fact that he even communicated a time limit made me nervous. The idea of being rushed to accommodate the fact that he screwed up with the reservation system should not have even come up in the conversation.  Bottom line: that was between him, Señor Fred, and Opentable.com.

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{Margarita selection.}

While Señor Fred certainly didn’t make the best first impression, or second for that matter when there was a slight mix-up in where to seat us, by the third impression – once the chips and guacamole came out, Señor Fred had begun to redeem himself. From there, the night went flawlessly (minus some service issues from a seemingly distracted, but pleasant waiter).

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{Chips and guacamole. Divine.}

I went with the Grilled Salmon infused with Mexican flair served in a roasted chile cilantro sauce, over sweet corn, shrimp picadillos and mashed potatoes. For dessert, I splurged on the Chanpurrado con Churros (translation: churros served with Mexican Hot Chocolate). Fabulous! 🙂

Needless to say, this gal was more than impressed with the food and the ambiance for her last meal of 2012; but service, service, service always brings the dining experience to absolute perfection. Senor Fred can cook, but he seriously needs some help on his people skills.

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{Dinner: Grilled Salmon.}

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{Dessert: Mexican Hot Chocolate and Churros.}

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{Back at home – N.Y.E. toast.}

17 Mile Drive, Pebble Beach

Posted in Explore, Fun, Travel by

There was one special highlight I purposely omitted from yesterday’s post during our Carmel getaway that was so spectacular, so breathtaking, it deserves the spotlight all its own.

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17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, considered one of the most famous scenic routes in the world, takes you through spectacular forest and ocean views. While I was surprised at the admission fee to take the drive (hey – we don’t charge peeps to cruise P.C.H.!!), I wasn’t disappointed and later understood the small cost because of the unique community  and experience ahead. Upon entry, you get a handy map listing 21 points of interest along the way guiding you to stop and spend some time taking in the landscape around you. From the 1st point of interest at Shepherd’s Knoll with amazing views of the Monterey Bay, to the Lone Cypress’s 250 year stay on a rocky perch, to a short stop to see how the other side lives at the fancy Pebble Beach Resort, it was something to see.

If you are ever nearby, make it a point to take this stunning excursion. In the meantime, you can live vicariously through mine…

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Highlights: Carmel

Posted in Breakfast, Dinner, Explore, Food, Fun, Travel, Treats, Uncategorized by

After a very happy Christmas Day and once I had gotten over the initial shock of such a thoughtful and extravagant gift, we headed out to enjoy the surprise Christmas trip from my boyfriend, a 3 (that turned into 4 – long story) night stay in Carmel!

I had never been to Carmel-by-the-Sea (which I learned is the city’s official full name), and honestly, had only heard of it because of Clint Eastwood. (How cultured of me, I know). As a lover of travel, good hotels, dining out, and sight seeing, I knew I was in for a real treat. Better yet, I was going to get 4 full uninterrupted days of adventure with my favorite person! 🙂

It was the prefect mixture of relaxation (i.e. spending lots of time lounging in our hotel room watching Saturday Night Live re-runs on VH1) and exploration (i.e. getting to know the city of Carmel).

Random fact: I just visited the city’s Wikipedia page and apparently there’s a law that prohibits the use of high heels without a permit due to uneven pavement throughout the town. Thank god I wore my Converse and didn’t get rock my 4 inch heels – it seems that would’ve been illegal!

Here are a few highlights from our Carmel-by-the-Sea adventure:

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{Our hotel, Carmel Mission Inn.}

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{Loved the beach-y inspired flair to the room with this cool electric blue lighting over the bed!}

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{Nothing like starting the day with room service.}

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{Exploring The Crossroads shops across the street from our hotel on a beautiful rainy day.}

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{This is by far the coolest way I’ve ever been served a vanilla latte! Nothing but nice things to say about our breakfast experience at “From Scratch Restaurant.”}

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{Exploring the shopping and dining places on the other side of our hotel, The Barnyard.}

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{View from our 4th floor hotel room. I loved all the trees, so much greenery.}

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{Roaming Downtown Carmel. Very quaint. Very expensive.}

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{400 Degrees Gourmet Burgers & Fries. This place was super cool! You placed and paid for your custom made burger order on the device at your table and your hot food came directly to you when ready. I predict we’ll be seeing this in L.A. very soon.}

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{Finally, I made a wish and threw a penny into this fountain in a park in Downtown Carmel. Here’s to hoping it comes true.}

The Christmas Project – Results

Posted in DIY, Explore, Film, Food, Fun, Inspiration, Treats, Uncategorized by

Christmas was officially over, but I was luckily still in the beginnings of a long holiday vacation. I love it when you have so much time off that you don’t even know what day it is, or even care for that matter.

When it came to festivities and the goals I set for myself to celebrate the season (dubbed The Christmas Project – thanks, I came up with that myself!), I did pretty well, though admittedly there were some…um…hiccups.

1. Decorate my apartment. 
Result: DONE 
While my prized glitter poinsettia plant (pictured in the header) died about 2 weeks before Christmas, all was well when my Christmas tree came along and provided the warmest, festive feeling whenever I was home. You can read about my tree experience here.

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2. Watch at least 2 Christmas themed movies a week.
Result: DONE

Love Actually kicked-off a Holiday flick marathon for the whole month of December. Along with The Holiday, This Christmas, Just Friends, Home Alone, Fred Claus (which was so awful I turned it off so this might not count), Rare Exports, and Gremlins.

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3. Get Christmas shopping done well before Christmas.
Result: DONE

I can proudly say that thanks to my pre-planning using a secret Pinterest board, this gal was done Christmas shopping by December 21st! Some of my favorites to hand out this year was an engraved business card holder for my boyfriend’s Mom who just started a new jewelry business, and tickets to The Groundlings (the best improve show in L.A.) for my boyfriend.

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4. Bake something festive.
Result: FAIL

Let’s just say I did A LOT of eating of festive inspired cookies, but failed to actually make them. Honestly, this was the holiday goal I knew would be the most challenging for me to get to, even as I was typing it I wasn’t very confident. For now, this handy collage of images I made from Pinterest images will have to do in place of the fact that I was too lame enough to follow through.

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5. Lots of Hot Cocoa.
Result: DONE

Okay, so I didn’t exactly count how many cups I’ve had, but suffice to say that I had at least  2 cups per week.

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6. Be present.
Result: DONE (to the best of my ability)

This one is hard to gauge whether or not I actually accomplished enough to say one way or another. On the one hand, I listened to Christmas music, watched movies, decorated my apartment, wrapped gifts, and spent time with some of my favorite people celebrating the season. However, it’s no secret that this Holiday season was overshadowed by some bad news both personally and in the world around me. Suddenly, I felt guilty and a sense of missing cheer about wanting to be active in the season in light of certain events. I will give myself an “A” for effort because as I reflect, I know I did the best that I could, given the circumstances. Once we hit Santa Cruz and got into the spirit, I couldn’t have been more present and welcomed the feeling.

Highlights: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day

Posted in Explore, Film, Food, Fun, Treats by

During the Holidays, most of the fun for me comes from the build-up, immersing myself in the spirit of the season. Weeks of planning, shopping, listening to holiday music, wrapping presents, going to festive parties, stopping by The Grove, sipping warm beverages, decorating and then enjoying the warm glow of a Christmas tree; and before you know it, it’s showtime…

CHRISTMAS EVE

After a relaxing and lazy start to the day, we spent Christmas Eve in Downtown Santa Cruz walking along the quaint Pacific Avenue.  It was an afternoon perusing charming boutiques and the used book and music stores. Of course, out of all the boutique places around us, I go and buy something from The Gap (I know, which is like everywhere!). I also tried my boyfriend’s favorite cookie from his old stomping grounds (delish!) before meeting up for a casual dinner and movie with his family. We ended the night with a short drive around town to look at Christmas lights in the neighborhood. It was definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

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{Strolling Pacific Avenue.}

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{Enjoying the famous Lemon Drop cookie from the Pacific Cookie Company.}

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{Admiring the marquee of the old Del Mar Theater.}

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{Inside the Del Mar. Our Christmas Eve movie was Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away in 3D. Warning: amazing visuals, super boring and shallow story line.}

CHRISTMAS DAY

Rise and shine, bright and early. Christmas day had arrived and it was filled with lots of smiles, gratitude, food and good company. Let’s just say Santa was very kind this year. It’s always the things you’ve had your eye on, but mentally filed away for another time that happen to magically appear under the tree that are my favorite. I also love a really good surprise. This year after giving and receiving gifts that couldn’t have been more perfect, my boyfriend went and did the unbelievable. The last gift opened was a paper confirmation of a 3 night hotel stay in Carmel. Our Northern California Christmas was being extended! Here are just few photo highlights that don’t even begin to capture all the highlights of that special day. I was in such a fog of happiness, I rarely took my camera out.

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{Sneak peek at some of the wrapped presents.}

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{Surprise! I’d been eyeing these awesome purple hand blown glasses from Maison Midi on La Brea for months!}

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{Picture this: A 4.5 pound bag of Hot Tamales, gift-wrapped! I didn’t even know they came this big!}

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{Victoria’s Secret gift card. Always a welcomed present.}

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{Getting ready for dinner.}

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{Hotel confirmation for a 3 night stay in Carmel!}

The Walt Disney Family Museum

Posted in Explore, Fun, Uncategorized by

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Location: 104 Montgomery Street, The Presidio, San Francisco

It was December 23rd; a rainy, Sunday morning when we hit the road from Santa Cruz and took the nearly 2 hour drive into San Francisco for our first official start to a Northern California Christmas vacation. And talk about RAIN! The vast difference I learned right away was that when it rains up north – it rains non-stop, all day. In L.A. – it rains, then stops, might sprinkle, and then it’s sunny again!

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{Rainy drive into SF.}

We didn’t let the wet skies change our plans or our mood. I was beyond excited to spend the day learning about one of the greatest contributors to the legacy of Hollywood and later my childhood, Walt Disney.

The Walt Disney Family Museum sits on an old military base in The Presidio district in San Francisco, with stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge in the backdrop. It houses the ancestry, history, and creative legacy of Walt Disney; from family beginnings, to his rise to success in the animation world, to the creation of his film studio, and later the conception of Disneyland, to his untimely passing in 1966.

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{Golden Gate Bridge.}

The Walt Disney Family Museum does an exceptional job of educating its visitors on all things Walt Disney. The massive collection showcases archival documents, telegrams, early sketches and drawings, family photographs, news paper clippings, video footage, 3D models, replicas, real artifacts, movie posters, awards (where even Oscar himself sits among the prized trophies). I left the museum three hours and 10 galleries later feeling like I knew Walt Disney in a way I never had. He wasn’t just the creative genius whose motto was always surrounded by the ideology of dreaming. The museum also paints the portrait of Walt Disney as a human being.

Unfortunately, photography was not allowed in the galleries, but was allowed in the main lobby space. Here are just a few photos from an amazing start to a wonderful Northern California Christmas adventure. I highly encourage any “dreamer” to go for a visit and learn from the master.

“What ever you do, do it well. Do it so well that when people see you do it they will want to come back and see you do it again and they will want to bring others and show them how well you do what you do.” – Walt Disney

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{Awards display.}

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{Photographs of Walt Disney.}

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{Lobby – staircase.}

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{View outside the museum window upstairs.}

Highlights: Christmas Road Trip

Posted in Books, Dinner, Explore, Food, Fun, Treats, Uncategorized by

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{Let’s go!}

I was ready for a change of scene! Don’t get me wrong, I’m an L.A. girl at heart, but I was definitely happy to leave the City of Angels and spend some time absorbing the very different Northern California air. I was going to spend Christmas in Santa Cruz with my boyfriend’s family this year. And p.s. – I literally envy the fresh, clean, crisp air up there. You can actually breathe! Not exactly a forte in smog-filled, rains twice a year, L.A.

While completely exhausted from the events over the last month, I was slowly getting excited. Before we’d even hit our final destination, I was very much looking forward to the experience of our mini road trip journey ahead. Six hours of chatting with my guy; staring out the window at endless fields, grass, and smelly cow farms (just typing that brings the smell to life. ugh.) thinking about whatever came to mind; stopping for gas and praying that the restrooms were decent to use; and realizing that no matter where you go, it’s true, you can’t escape McDonald’s because I saw one at EVERY exit off the I-5.

What I’ve come to discover, truly believe, and even like about myself is that I’m happiest when I’m exploring anything new; be it here in L.A. at new restaurant or museum, or off the side of a highway in the middle of nowhere. I’m most alive when I’m traveling! If there’s any one thing that I know I need to do more of is chase adventure.

I don’t know what it is exactly that makes me this way, perhaps it’s the fact that I love doing something new and exploring places outside what I know, and I’m sure it has much to do with the fact that I get bored easily and need to be stimulated, away from the mundane often, and always learning.

It was Saturday, December 22nd, a rainy day as we took off for the latest adventure.  Here are a few highlights from our mini Christmas road-trip:

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{Taking one last look at all the wrapped gifts I would be giving out this Christmas right before packing them away for the trip. I love buying presents and coming up with creative presentation.}

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{Pretty much what most of the I-5 drive looked like out my window.}

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{Part of the fun of road trips? Snacks! Though I resisted and went for the oh so healthy Taco Bell instead.}

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{Taken outside our stop at the TA (Travel Centers of America) in Wheeler Ridge for a restroom break and food. I loved this view and BY far one of the cleanest bathroom facilities you’ll see on the road here. Make a note of this. Especially for us ladies!}

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{This was supposed to be my road trip read, but admittedly, I don’t think I read more than 5 pages of this book the entire time I was on vacation. So this is what I’ll be working on now – but the highlight being I bought it as my holiday read.}

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{Once we made it into town, I wanted a really good, HEALTHY meal. We stopped at Mimi’s Cafe where I enjoyed chicken and veggies for dinner, then ruined it with this yummy triple chocolate brownie sundae. Oh well, I was on vacation, right!?!}

Happy 2013!

Posted in Explore, Film, Food, Fun by

It’s Monday, January 7th and for me this means back to life, back to reality, back to work. It also means 16 days to catch you up on since my last post right before a much needed winter vacation from reality and work! And I’ve got to tell you, A LOT can happen in 16 days: a mini road trip to Northern California for the holidays, a day in San Francisco getting to know the real Walt Disney, Christmas in Santa Cruz with my boyfriend’s family, a surprise trip to Carmel, good food, good company, A LOT of eating, A LOT of movie watching, and A LOT of time reflecting and resetting for a new year.

Despite the happiness, then bumpiness, chaos, and missing cheer that came with this past Holiday season; I have to say, the magic of the Holidays as we got closer and closer to Christmas turned things around in an instant and the spirit of the season made for a very memorable and happy ending to 2012.

So sit back, relax, and take a short journey with me as I relive (okay, catch up because I’m seriously behind) on blog posts sharing all of the fond moments over the last 2 weeks and to wrap up a very challenging, but life changing year. The good news is those Mayans couldn’t have been more wrong and we made it to an uncharted 2013 calendar year.

Here’s to the year I’m believing that dreams come true. The year I turn the big 3-0. (Luckily, I still have quite a few months more to adjust and absorb this unbelievable fact!) And the year that All That Glitters, will be more luminous than ever. I can’t wait to see what happens!

Happy 2013! Cheers! 🙂

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{How I rang in 2013 – with a glass of Martinelli’s Apple Grape Sparkling Cider!}