A Proper Date

The last real date Patrick and I had been on was 1 1/2 years ago. So, I told Patrick I wanted to go on a proper date. He planned it out and made the reservations. We dressed up in our best and he took me out on the town. Our first stop was a happy hour at a great place known for their wine and blues performances. Since we were just there for happy hour we didn't see any performances, but we had some great wine. Then we walked three blocks down the street to the restaurant we had reservations at. The restaurant was amazing. Great service and wonderful food and more great wine! So, we didn't care when the bill came and it was about 4 times more than what we would ever normally pay. You gotta do it up big when you only go on a date once every 18 months! We had so much fun, we didn't want the night to end. Eventually, we headed home and promptly fell asleep (it was 10 PM). Man, are we old!

I made Patrick pose for this picture. He looked so handsome!

A Day with the Dawsons

This last week our best friends were in town for a day. They don't get a lot of beach time living in Colorado so we decided to spend the day at the beach. First, we took them to Venice Beach. That's a real experience... Picture outdoor gyms on the beach; a rundown, dirty boardwalk; street performers and vendors selling tourist stuff like postcards, t-shirts, towels, among other more nefarious products that you will be solicited. There's also the typical baywatch style life guard huts and yellow life guard trucks that drive on the beach. Weird for non-socal residents to see. Before we moved down here I didn't know those really existed.

After walking the boardwalk at Venice Beach we headed north to Santa Monica where we walked the pier and saw the original Hot Dog on a Stick stand. Next we drove south along the coast to Huntington Beach. Huntington is a lot cleaner and less touristy than Venice and Santa Monica. We had lunch out on the pier and then walked through town to see what it had to offer. We sat on the beach for a while and watched the surfers and then walked back to town to grab a beer at the local brewery.

We had a great time as we always do with the Dawsons. More laughs than you could count! Miss you guys already, but here are some pics to remember our day at the beach:

The canals at Venice Beach

The pier at Huntington Beach

Lindsay and me. As you can tell it wasn't the warmest.

The four of us. You can tell who's from Colorado by who's wearing the least amount of clothing.

Around Town

The other day, Patrick and I decided we needed to take a photo tour of Pasadena. While living in Boston, we were always inspired by the city to take pictures of the architecture, the neighborhoods, etc. But, to be honest, Pasadena doesn't really inspire the same feelings. We've lived here for over 2 years now and haven't taken any photos of Pasadena. There are definitely gems to be found if you look for them, though. So, here are a few of our favorite photos that we took on our walk around our neighborhood in Pasadena.

This garden area has some beautiful tile work. You can see some of it in the background.

A lovely church on Colorado Ave.

Pasadena City Hall

Monuments to Jackie Robinson and his brother who both attended a local high school and did alot for the community after becoming pro athletes.

A fountain in the courtyard of City Hall. We thought this looked like we could be in another country.

One of our favorites! We love the art deco style of this building. If you notice, it says "Ice Cream" on the right hand side. We always find this so disappointing because there is no ice cream. This building actually houses a school supply store. How much cooler would it be if it really had an old fashioned ice cream shop???