Happy new year, a few days late!

Let's all enjoy this freshness and hope we create some really cool stories.

Love,
Kristen

Foodstagram: Las Vegas Weekend

Jeff and I flew over to Vegas at the beginning of the month since Mr. Overachiever wanted to do one last Rock-n-Roll half marathon to close out the year.  I was all for accompanying him because, believe it or not, I have only been to Vegas one other time in my life, at a time and age where I was far too young to have any business being in Vegas.  I also figured it would be a fun way to celebrate our three months of marriage, which would have been the same day as his race.

Sadly, we were forced to cut our previously-imagined, relaxing four-day trip in half, as our flight out of San Diego was cancelled due to fog (further solidifying our bad streak with flying), and J finding out a few days after booking our hotel that his work needed him to be on the east coast by Sunday night (ultimately meaning: no more marathon).

Due to time constraints, we were a lot choosier on how and where to spend our time and money, and more importantly, where to eat.  Thankfully, I had compiled a list of recommended restaurants from our Vegas-frequenting friends.  Turned out that they have taste buds built for the madly decadent.

But c'mon -- with only two days to indulge, I wasn't gonna complain.

1. Vegetarian waffle sandwich from Max Brenner, with a side of waffle fries dusted with cocoa and chili powder.
2. Original "Frrrozen Hot Chocolate" from Serendipity 3.
3. Watching our Combo Pan Roast (crab, lobster and shrimp) cook at the Oyster Bar at Palace Station.
4. Slice of white pizza from the secret pizza place at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. ***

*** Even though I sadly abuse the phrase myself, I typically never believe people who say that something is the "best ____ ever."  But seriously, you guys.  That pizza was the best pizza ever.

Must try next time:  Wicked Spoon Buffet and Bachi Burger.

My last X amount of days, according to Instagram

1. Despite my 3-day workweeks, I have caught on to an addiction to being cancelled from work.  There are a few things I know that are better than that 5 am wake-up call from the hospital's staffing office, letting me know that, no, I don't have to come into work that day.  Because I feel as if I've been given another free day to do whatever I want, I always feel a celebration is necessary.  This picture is from one of those days, beginning with brunch at Imig's, a cafe inside El Cajon's Lafayette Hotel.
2. I am so incredibly spoiled by Southern California that I am guaranteed to start whining about the weather whenever it reaches the 60s.  My antidote: cook a big pot of sirloin beef chili.  Not pictured is the creamed corn cornbread baking in the oven below.
3. Coffee at The Mission on University Ave.  This is my all-time favorite drink from there, and my second favorite coffee drink overall: the Mission Mocha Thai, served hot.
4. My husband, looking as if he had won the lottery after pushing his lame granola bowl to the side and eating what I couldn't finish of my Zen Breakfast (also at The Mission).
5. I once read that nightstands just become reservoirs for cluttering/hoarding habits, and that's why we don't own any.  I also think that there is something romantic about a non-cluttered bedside and having a stack of books and a coffee mug on a hardwood floor.
6. J always says that he can never pick out clothes for me, yet he never fails whenever he picks out anything leopard print. 
7. More evidence of the Target phenomenon:  go in for apples and house essentials, come out with a gold Christmas tree.
8. Celebrating being cancelled again - this time at Kitchen 4140 in Morena Blvd.  We got out of church and I said to J, "I know where to eat!  Do you trust me?" and navigated him all the way to farm-to-table, yet, delicious business park obscurity.

Happy birthday, Huddy!

Dear Jeffrey,

I never pictured my early married life to include waking up to dance routines and roughing it on cardboard boxes for makeshift living room furniture, yet it's been our reality and you've made every second of it fun for the both of us.

I won't list all of the things that you do for me because that list would become really long really fast.  Though I should mention that one of my goals as a new wife was to aim to out-love you as much and as often as possible.  And what volumes does it speak, when I truly feel that I've got a long way to go if I wish to just be even with you.

I thank God everyday for you, your kind heart, and your effortless way of making me feel light.

(Photo by Ja Tecson)

I love you.

Your secret admirer,
Kristen

My week according to Instagram.

1. Sasha, my puppy-niece.
2. A spontaneous visit to Santa Monica led to a successful CB2 shopping trip.
3. Delicious Japanese-style curry at Coco Ichibanya.
4. The start of The New Missus.
5. Amazing dinner prepared by J (recipe here).  The perfect remedy for a hard day at work.
6. The beginnings of our apartment.
7. The wedding day of a childhood friend.
8. Me with my perma-date.

New role, new blog.

Oh, blogging.  I've missed you!

Since my last post on Verboseterous, I've gone and done quite a few things.  New and outrageous things, such as move away from my childhood home, commit to change my last name and promise to spend my life with my best friend (we even flew to Paris to celebrate).  I also reached my two-year mark into my career, slowly delved into home-making, and went into research and frugal mode more than ever.  In short, I think I finally became an adult.

In celebration of these changes, I decided it was time for a new blog.

(Stolen shot from our wedding day.  Photo by Christine Bautista.)

I hope this new blog will still have my typical musings (the kind that are usually funny to only me), save for a touch more experience not too far behind.  My goal is to try to accurately document this super-fun stage of my life in which I find myself -- newly-married, learning how to be around another human being almost 24/7 without going insane, discovering more and more of my city (and the world!) -- and ultimately provide myself with something great to look back on when I'm no longer a newlywed.

Most of all, I'm just excited to BE excited to write again.

Who cares if it's already/barely October.  Here's to new beginnings!

Love,
Kristen