Another year of FABULOUS!!

I turned twenty-seven yesterday!

 

I found a quote to help put this awkward age into perspective for me:

"Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many"

~ Unknown

How true is that!

I had quite the busy birthday. I was surprised at work with a fun balloon on my chair and a delicious cake! I had the best patients all day too :). I even got out early! 

 I celebrated my 27th year with some of my favorite people with an amazing happy hour at one of my favorite restaurants, Crab Catcher! I had been craving their crab nachos and key lime pie martini the entire week leading up to my birthday! I was not disappointed :).

I was showered with some fun presents! My hubby got me the new iPhone! I'm so excited to have Siri! And to facetime!! I also got a groupon for a canvas photo that I have been wanting for my living room, some amazing lotions, body wash and candles, a couple super cute shirts, and some fun jewelry. Oh! And a bottle of Chocolate Shop wine. I can't wait to try it!! And of course, there is the fabulous giant balloon! Oh, and a surprise call from my sissy love! Hearing her voice was such a great gift :).

After happy hour, the divas and I actually found a bar with some people in it in La Jolla. It was quite the task, let me tell you! I have the blisters to prove it ;). We ended up at The Living Room Lounge, which turns out is a hooka bar! We got a bottle of wine and a rose flavored hooka. It was a perfect night!

I am so lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life, and it's always so fun to be surrounded by them at the same time.

There is so many fun things coming up the next couple weeks! I'll keep you all posted!

Until next time!
~ T.Don

Happy Valentines Day my beautiful friends!

I have had the urge to bake lately. I gave into the urge this morning and baked some delicious peanut butter cookies from scratch. They turned out amazing if I do say so myself!

I did have a little bit of an ulterior motive for the baking... I mentioned my dental visit that was coming up in a previous post, well I went and sure enough, I had 2 cavities! Boo!! I brought a bunch of the cookies in to make sure they didn't hurt me ;). My dentist is awesome though, and it was a piece of cake!

(Side note. It is really weird going into a dental office that I don't work in! I had a nice conversation with my hygienist about prophy paste and I was able to diagnose my cavities before the doctor came into the room!)

If anyone in San Diego needs a good dentist, let me know!

While I was waiting for the numbness to wear off, I took my puppy dog to visit her papa bear at work. I absolutely love being able to visit my hubby in the middle of the day! I wasn't able to the whole time he was at Port Hueneme (you pronounce that why-knee-me!), so I go as often as possible! I brought the rest of the cookies for his office mates (I can't have them sitting around he house! That's why I don't bake very much). My hubby surprised me with some yummy white chocolate covered strawberries when I got there! He's so thoughtful :).

After we visited for a while and Sadie made her rounds, we headed out to dog beach. Sadie LOVES running in the waves and chasing/herding the other dogs, but she wasn't really feeling it today! She ran off and almost ran into the parking lot with out me. Almost gave me a heart attack! We didn't stay long :/.

I made Anthony his new favorite meal for our Valentines Day dinner, Chili. In the 7 years we have been together, I JUST found out that chili is one of his favorites! Silly boy :). After dinner, we headed downtown for some yummy dessert at the Ghirardelli Ice Cream Shop. Mmmmmmmmm! I had a scrumptious banana hot fudge sunday and Anthony has a root beer float! We both are in a food coma right now!!

  I hope you all were able to spend today with someone you love, be it a friend, a lover, your parents, anyone! I had a great day with my husband! 

Until next time folks!

~ T.Don

Guess who went to Vegas!!!

I did!!

Jessie, Julie, Jolee and I drove to Vegas last Friday for the baby shower for our dear friend Kim. It just so happened that the shower was the weekend after Jessie's birthday, so we got to celebrate that as well!

It was an easy drive out, and we got to our hotel off the strip around 12:30 in the morning. It just so happens that the hotel was less than a block from one of the country bars Jolee likes to go.

Joy.

If you didn't know this, I do NOT like country music! Icing on the cake is you can smoke inside, so not only do I get to hear my favorite music, I get to inhale second hand smoke the whole night.

It actually turned into a really fun night out! After a couple drinks (our bartender Mike made the BEST lemon drops we have ever had!), I was uninhibited enough to learn a couple line dances and even how to 2 step! And besides the lingering cough, I came out unscathed!

Kim's shower was Saturday afternoon. Of coarse I got us lost on our way there so we were late! I didn't realize how emotional I would be when I saw her! I feel like I've been going through her pregnancy with her! We talked about trying for a baby early last year, and now here she is! A month away from welcoming her baby boy to the world! Go figure, I cried! Haha!

We had a great time! We even won the nursery rhyme game! I don't know how I remember so many nursery rhymes, but it came in handy ;).

Saturday night was our GNO. Miss Julie stayed at the hotel and relaxed while Jess, Jolee and I went to the Mandalay Bay for some Vegas fun!

Our only plan was to check out the Ice Bar called Minus 5*. We did, and it was AMAZING! We rocked our awesome coats, mittens and boots and sat in a bar made completely out of ice and had a couple drinks! I feel like I got my winter experience in there. Who needs snow when you can sit in a bar made of ice!

We also were wrangled into going to the Foundation Room, which is the rooftop bar at Mandalay Bay. We called it the 40 and up bar because, well, we were probably the youngest ones there! There was an amazing view up there, but it was too cold to be sanding on the patio (we didn't have our snazzy coats from the Ice Bar!).

For Vegas, it was a low key night! We were ready to hit the hay by 1:30 and were snuggled in bed by 2!

Sunday, we met back up with Kim and her crew to have lunch at Margarittaville, then hit the road to head home. Lucky for us, we left right before the Super Bowl started so we missed all the traffic!

All in all, it was a great weekend with wonderful friends!

Now I'm off to take my puppers to the beach so we can enjoy the beautiful weather we're having!

Until next time!

~T.Don

 

It's February!!!

A.K.A the BEST month ever!!

That may just be because it's my birthday month :).

And it's already off to an amazing start!

So much fun stuff is happening soon, starting with celebrating my besites birthday tonight at one of my favorite places! Happy birthday to my bestie of 13 years! We had an amazing time at Wine Steals in Point Loma celebrating all that is Jessie. I don't think tickets to Mama Mia in Los Angelas can be beat as the greatest gift ever!

Friday is our next big excursion. Jessie, Julie, Jolee and I are headed to Las Vegas for a baby shower! I'm so excited for a weekend road trip with my besties :). There should be some amazing memories made!

I have my first dental appointment in an office that I don't work in next Thursday. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little nervous! Nothing says "Hey, I work in this field" like gagging during your x-rays :/. It's also been almost 2 years since I've had a check up, so I hope I don't have any cavities!

My hubby and I will probably celebrate Valentines Day the way we normally do, which is cooking an AMAZING dinner together with a great bottle of wine. It's sounds so lovely! I can't wait! We don't exchange gifts for Valentines Day because in my hubby's words, he shows his ever lasting love for me every day of the year ;). He really does try! Valentines is just another day that we can have some special time, just the two of us. Well, three of us with the puppers! She likes to be included when we cook too! 

The week after that, I'll be ringing in the big 2-7. Yup... Dirty thirty is knocking on my door! Lucky me, my birthday falls on Ash Wednesday. You know what that means??? Oh yeah! Mardi Gras is the day before my big day! Guess who's FINALLY getting to celebrate a Mardi Gras? This girl, that's who! Supposedly the Gaslamp has a pretty amazing celebration, so I'm going to ring in my almost birthday getting some beads ;).

The last week in February is the LEAP YEAR! I don't know why, but I've always loved February 29th. I used to secretly wish it was my birthday! I don't have anything exciting going on besides work, but maybe I'll look on Pinterest for something fun to celebrate the last day of my favorite month :).

I am trying to be mindful of all the things I have to be grateful for in my life, and tonight I was so grateful to be around so many people I love! I have so many amazing friends in my life, many that I've had for over half my life! I love them all and am SO thankful to have them!

That's all for now folks!

Until next time,

T.Don

Time flies when you're having fun!

Where has January gone?

It seems like just yesterday was New Years Day, now February is just a day away! The mister and I have been keeping busy the last couple weeks with some really fun events! We went to a wedding in Ventura, ran in Shape Magazines first annual Diva Dash, cheered on my mumsy and auntie as they walked the Carlsbad Half Marathon, finally took the puppers to Dog Beach, attended the mast amazing baby shower (check out operationshower.org) and got to go to our first PGA tournament!

I've been meaning to get on here, but have been suffering from some writers block. Usually at about 11:00 at night when I'm curled up in bed falling asleep, I'll think of something brilliant to write about, then forget what it was in the morning. Such is life, right!

Here's what I came up with today.

I didn't really make any resolutions this New Years. I do; however, have some things I'd like to do before the year has passed us bye once again!

Take advantage of everything San Diego has to offer! There are so many places to see and restaurants to enjoy!

To visit the Ludy's in Washington.

Cook more! A great complement my hubby could give me would be to say I'm a great cook!

Run more. I love it! I need to do it more, not just for the exercise, but for my sanity! I want to do at least one race (either a 5K or an obstacle and run) each quarter.

Remind myself of all the things I have to be grateful for in my life. I can very easily dwell on the things I don't have, that I forget to be thankful for all the amazing blessings I do have.

Write more.

Be more organized.

I believe all this is completely do-able and now that I've got in in writing, it'll be easier to stick to!

Until next time folks!

T.Don

A year in review

What a year 2011 has been! Last year at this time, the mister and I were getting ready for the movers to come pack us up and bring us home to San Diego. We had such an eventful year!

We started 2011 with our amazing Antiguan honeymoon. Not only did we fall in love with the beautiful scenery, the friendly people and the amazing beaches, we got some much needed rest and relaxation before starting new in San Diego.

We had so many visitors our first month in our new house. My sissy love was on leave between South Korea and Huntingdon, England. She stayed with us for about 3 weeks, so of course our parents came out to visit for a family reunion! It was the first time in over a year our whole family was together so we needed a new family photo. We flew out my cousin Kristine (who also shot my wedding) to do our family portraits. She did such a great job!

In April, one of my best friends came down to visit with her kids for a week! We had so much fun watching old episodes of Inspector Gadget, drinking sweet tea vodka at book club, going to Sea World, exploring Balboa Park, crashing housings Easter Egg Hunt and a birthday party! The kids had so much fun at Auntie Teeta's house :) 



Being pirates at a toddlers birthday party!

In May, the mister and I got to go to Santa Cruz together for the first time. Unfortunately it was for his grandmas funeral, but it was nice to meet the Donatelli side of the family finally. Anthony hadn't seen some of his cousins for 15 years so it was really great to finally meet them. We got to see them all again in November for a much happier occasion, his cousins wedding! I am so close to my family and I hope we can have the same kind of relationship with his.

Some of the cousins with the "new" Donatellis!



This summer was the first time in probably 8 years that I had time off to take a proper trip to Minnesota! My doctor takes a week off in June every year and I took the opportunity to go visit my parents. It was so nice to go out there and not have to rush to see everybody! I even got to go fishing!

Don't you love that my mom has kept her Kearny Cheer sweat shirt all these years!

The rest of the summer flew bye with a couple of my cousins visiting! It's always fun to show off all San Diego has to offer. We don't get to see the "touristy" things very often since we have lived here so long. I went to the Zoo for the first time in probably almost 10 years with my cousin and his wife. I also went to the Del Mar Horse Races with my mini me cousin Katie to kick off her college education! We had so much fun!

The summer ended with a Wine Diva's reunion! Four out of our seven original Ventura Diva's now live in San Diego. I am so happy to have them all here! We get together a few times a month to do what we do best... Drink wine!

My sweet husband turned 30 this September, and to ring in this new decade we got a PUPPY!!! Little Sadie Rufus Rose (Bear Butt) Donatelli joined our family October 29th. She has been quite the addition to our little family! It is so rewarding to watch her grow and teach her how to be a good girl. It helps that's she's the cutest puppy in the entire world :). I may be biased, but she really is freaking cute!

September was also our 1st wedding anniversary! We had an incredible dinner at home just the two of us. We don't always get to do that, so it was very special.

The day after our anniversary, I flew out to London! What an amazing trip! My sissy love and I had the BEST time together exploring Edinburgh, Scotland and she even braved the rain in London for me. We drank a LOT of cider, walked circles around the city, almost got in a plane crash and had a bunch of Harry Potter trivia thrown at us in the short time we got to spend together!  

We spent Thanksgiving in Arizona with my aunt and uncle. Anthony got to golf with my uncle while I got to shop and hang out with my aunt. It was such a relaxing 5 days! Beautiful weather and great company. You can't ask for much more!

This month, I got to do something I've been wanting to do since before our wedding! I FINALLY trashed my dress!! I worked with an old friend of mine and his cousin, and the results were beyond incredible! The best part of the whole experience was how much FUN we had! I was tossed around by the waves and crawling in the sand and spent the next couple days digging sand out of my hair and ears, and it was so worth it!

Christmas was very nice and quiet. We had the Brodies over for dinner and played some Monopoly! New Years will probably be the same. We like to be low key around the holidays. Keeps the stress levels low!

My hope for 2012 is that it does not go as fast as 2011 did!

From  my little family to yours, we hope you all have had an amazing year and here's to a happy and healthy 2012!

Until next time!

T.Don

It's Christmas Time at the Donatellis!

At Anthony's work Holiday Party

Christmas is only 3 days away!

This year has just flown bye. The mister and I are so excited to celebrate our second Christmas as a married couple. This is our first year in a house, so we have been stoked to FINALLY be able to put up Christmas lights. Well we were, until we got a notice on our door from the housing office saying we were going to have our houses painted the weeks before Christmas. Go figure. The worst part is that it is now 3 days until Christmas, and they STILL have not gotten to our house! Today I said screw it, and put some lights in our bushes! We're hoping to get the lights on the house tonight or tomorrow. We are not going to let them ruin our excitement! 

Even though we haven't been able to decorate the outside, I've done my best to bring the Christmas spirit inside. We got our tree a couple weeks ago and I love it! Normally we get a bigger tree (6 or 7 feet), but this year we went with a perfect little 4 footer! We were concerned (and rightfully so!) that the pup would try to eat the ornaments and possibly knock over the tree. We put our little tree up on a table so it's completely off the floor and away from the dog, and it' is absolutely perfect!

One of our traditions at Christmas time is we wrap all our paintings and framed photo's with fun holiday wrapping paper so it looks like we have presents on our walls! I use the one in our entry way to hang our holiday cards to display them. This year I also got some fake snow to decorate our kitchen window and our wine bar. It's really cheesy, but super fun for me! Plus, it's festive and looks great!

Some of our favorite wine staying festive and our snowmen chillin in the snow!

Oh, and of coarse we had to add a stocking for our newest addition!

One of our most fun traditions is hiding our Christmas pickle on the tree! It's been a tradition in my family for years, so when I moved out, my mom gave me my own to continue it on!

I love that our tree is completely unique! We don't have 2 ornaments that match, and most of them have some special meaning to us.

After a year hiatus, we actually got our holiday cards in the mail yesterday! I love that Anthony and I have connected with his extended family this year, which made his list just as long as mine! I love having a big family :). I sometimes miss the craziness of the holidays with my side of the family, but the peacefulness of staying home and spending quality time with my husband is just as special to me. We are starting our own traditions. Who knows what they will end up being!

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas!

Until next time,

T. Don