Earthquakes and Cupcakes: My End of the Year Blogaroo

It's been about three months since I last wrote, so I guess I am right on track with my quarterly blog update. The past few months have been an absolute whirlwind of fun, sadness, excitement, new beginnings, travel...life! AND, the last three months of my dear sweet twenties. 3,650 awesome days. Granted, there are a couple of days, okay, maybe years in there I would like to forget. But, there are more that I am trying hard not to forget. Is anyone else's memory starting to get foggy? The other day someone told me that when you hit thirty your memory has reached max capacity and has to start getting rid of the old to make way for the new. I hope that is not true. I have met such extraordinary friends and mentors; seen so many beautiful places; and learned so many lessons (some the hard way) that I would hate to think they are going to just disappear into memory oblivion.
Last weekend we bid my twenties farewell with a birthday trip to San Francisco. Bryan and I have lived in Los Angeles for almost three years and we had never made it up to Northern California before last Friday. I am in love. San Francisco is by far one of the most beautiful and captivating cities that I have been to in the U.S. It is SO different from Southern California. Frankly, I really think Northern and Southern California should be two different states. Although I have learned to like LA; if the opportunity ever presented itself I would move to San Francisco in a heartbeat.
Our dear friend Shera, her beau, and our travel buddy Preston met us in San Fran to celebrate. Over the weekend we took a walking tour of the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood; ate more food then I care to admit to; took a boat tour of Alcatraz (very interesting...); hit up the local pubs and had tea in the Japanese Gardens. We were only there 48-hours, so we didn't see nearly everything the city has to offer. That only means we will have to go back again!

Rewind back to...

November
This was the countdown month for me. Each morning I would let Bryan know how many days he had left to be married to a woman in her twenties. Ha ha. It was the countdown to move out of El Dumpo (the name we gave our last apartment). We moved into El Dumpo so we could build our savings and live close to the beach. However, in spite of the cheap rent (by LA standards) and close proximity to the waterfront we did not always enjoy ourselves. It wasn't THAT bad, but it wasn't THAT great. We didn't know it at the time when we moved in, but the City of Santa Monica dump truck parking garage was right across the street from our building. Anyway, each morning around 4AM (Saturday's included) the dump trucks would roar out of the garages and onto the street directly in front of our bedroom. The noise from the trucks was so loud it would vibrate our bed, floor, windows...everything. Sometimes it would seem like they were just sitting there idle for hours...roaring and vibrating! I don't think I had a full night sleep from December 2009 to November 2010. It was not pleasant. El Dumpo was rundown, old and tired and that is how she made me feel when I lived there. Isn't it funny how an environment can make you feel? Now, we are in a great updated two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse. I have been in hog-heaven with my own bathroom. It's the small things in life. I am now enjoying a full night's sleep on a regular basis. ;0)

October
The month kicked off with my sweet little brother and his beautiful bride Pam tying the knot. It was the most artistic, creative, fun wedding I have ever been to. They are both very talented artists and it showed! Everything from the altar, to the party favors to centerpieces, to bouquets to the room decor was hand made by them. Instead of putting out a guest book, they built a guest photo booth (picture below). The backdrop was painted with chalkboard paint so each guest could personalize a message to the bride and groom. There was a treasure box full of fun props, silly hats and signs for people to dress up with. Such a great idea. Where were they when I was being hurled off a stage? Ha ha...inside joke for those who had to witness that snafu. Anyway, super-cool idea b/c now they have all these cool one-of-a-kind photos of all their friends and family on their big day.
We also took our one-year anniversary trip to Vancouver, Canada in October. Again, a fantastic city! I feel like I say that about every place we go, but I guess it's fair to say they're all fantastic in their own way. We took some great walking tours and learned about the history of Vancouver and Canada in general, which was really fascinating. I don't recall ever learning that much about Canada in school, but it has a lot of interesting history. I highly suggest walking or bicycle tours when you visit a new city; you learn so much and meet some interesting people. The city is still full of Olympic pride, which was really cool to see firsthand. The city as a whole has a really progressive way of thinking that I really like. Another city I would love to live in given the opportunity.

September
My mom came to LA! We had so much fun! It was so great to have her out here. She was amazed by the big city and the beauty that LA has to offer. I really hope she gets to come out again next year because there is so much more to share.

Dylan & Pam