Weekend Love

{moi at the huntington library in pasadena yesterday. i went with some gal pals and had tea and scones and wandered the gardens. so fun!

and last week, i saw a groupon for a year-long membership to the huntington for half off, so i split it with a friend and now we'll be going there all. the. time.}

My New... Hair {and Vegas pictures!}

{me, lindsay, and courtney getting ready for a night out at Tao}

Look at me, all dressed up! In Vegas! :) I never wear heels, but I did! And I rarely put any sort of product in my hair, but I did! My therapist says I'm "learning how to be a girl" and I think I'm just so much happier in my skin. Here are some more pictures from Vegas :)

{amy and her adorable boyfriend, alex}

{kyle and lindsay (my wedding planning clients), in a tender moment i was honored to catch}

{amy and i waiting for the open bar to start (woo-hoo for wristbands!) in Lavo}

{the super cute gladiator sandals amy convinced me to buy in forever 21}

{the girls outside of Lavo}

{the girls inside of Lavo}

{amy on the tram from treasure island to the mirage after Lavo (and andrew in the background)}

it was a great trip, with friends i've loved reconnecting with, and i hope there will be many more! :)

also, i'm loving my new hair (it's about 3 inches shorter and, when i style it correctly, it has that whole sideswept bang thing going on.) the best part about it is that it's totally wash and wear. i've asked for that in the past and stylists were like, "absolutely." and then the next day, without their styling skills and products, it's definitely NOT wash and wear. but this time it's perfect!

have you been on any good trips lately? or had any good haircuts? share with me!

<3, katie

Happy Monday!

This weekend, I was so productive!! On Friday, I had the day off work and I started cleaning my room - going through my bookshelves, cleaning the closet and rerranging furniture. I also spend a good amount of time lounging with Oliver and catching up on recorded shows. Also, I went to the gym for two hours! When I left, I could feel my butt muscles as I walked. (Which was cool then, not so cool now as I'm super sore.) Friday evening, Adam and I saw Babies. For a movie with no dialogue really, it was pretty entertaining. It was definitely funny; but not ground-breaking.

On Saturday, Amy, my mom and I participated in the Revlon Run/Walk 5K. By participated, I mean I ran...then I walked. :) It was surprisingly hot and I got sunburned (despite my sunscreen!) and my feet are blistered (my running shoes are worn-out), but it was a great race for a good cause! I'm proud that I was able to run at least half of it and that I raised $75 for cancer research and awareness efforts. Afterwards, I picked up one of these awesome tank tops:

Amy and I also decided we want to sign up for the MLB All-Star Game Charity 5K in Anaheim in July. Which, yes, sounds as appealing as a race through the Gobi Desert, but if you sign up before 5/23, it's only $25 and you get this awesome shirt. Join us! :)

When we finally got home (we took the Metro and it was a bit of a disaster), I picked up a salad from Carl's Jr (mmmm the cranberry apple walnut salads are the best) and went home to nurse my blisters. Actually, I was pretty productive then, too! I did more cleaning and organizing, then dyed my hair and proceeded to take the most awesome, relaxing shower ever. I used every mask and scrub I could find and I exfoliated and buffed and moisturized until I shone. :)

I picked up this amazing mask in Rotorua, New Zealand when I was there 2 years ago. I bought it at the Polynesian Spa after soaking in sulfur-scented hot springs. This mask has the incredibly fine and rich mud of Lake Rotorua and colostrum which, if you don't think about it too hard, isn't that gross. You can order your own here or better yet, just go visit NZ and pick some up there! :)

Saturday night, I took my sore, sweet-smelling self over to the home of my lovely friends, Kyle and Lindsay. They just got the cutest Yorkie puppy named Yoshi. Behold, Yoshi!

On Sunday, I went with Mike and Sarah to scout pet adoptions for their next mew. They found two they fell in love with at the Long Beach shelter and we'll be going back on Thursday to snatch them up! Here is a picture of those delightful mews!

Sunday evening, Adam and I went to dinner with my family for Mother's Day. We went to this great restaurant called Creme de la Crepe; they have a couple locations here in the South Bay and they're consistently amazing.

After dinner, I went home and went crazy on the house. I cleaned the kitchen, bathroom and living room. I also finished my room. So, now I have a HUGE pile of giveaway items to catalog before I take them to Goodwill (tomorrow) and a huge pile of trash bags outside my door with no one to take them to the dumpster (Jon's in Mexico). Tonight, I will clear out those piles and tackle the trunk of my car (almost as bad as my room was). I will also attempt to do homework and go to the gym tonight. Such busy-ness. But such satisfaction in cleanliness and productivity!

Also, I'm in love with these shoes :)

They're less than $20 with shipping!

Does someone want to get them for me as 

an early birthday present? I'm a size 7 in mens!

via Steals and Deals

Coachella!

So... I didn't take very many pictures, but we had tons of fun, so I will post what pictures I did take (and maybe a few I stole from other people- all credited!).

{adam's photo

dang! vip wrist bands!

saturday afternoon.}

{a huge pile of delicious ruby red grapefruits from daniel's parents' tree -

i hadn't eaten a half a grapefruit since i was a little kid.}

{playing beatles rock band with george, zach, daniel and adam.

sunday afternoon.}

{adam. on expert level. ridiculous.

sunday afternoon.}

{grandpa and grandson -

george and zach.

sunday afternoon.}

{the awesome origami crane -

photo by brette.}

{a horrible quality phone pic

of us watching Phoenix

sunday night.}

a super fun weekend :)

Santa Barbara Meanderings

Last Sunday, Adam and I drove up to Santa Barbara for the day. Along the way we stopped by a truck along the side of the road and bought freshly-picked strawberries. They were the most perfect strawberries I've ever eaten.

It was a gorgeous day for a coastal drive.

And the hills were alive with wildflowers.

We stopped at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club - a client of Adam's.

We saw the horsies.

And more flowers.

I fell in love with the varied architecture in Santa Barbara.

We breakfasted at Pacific Crepes.

{photo by Amanda S.}

We stopped at the park across the street from Mission Santa Barbara, aptly named Mission Park.

We then walked over to the Mission, which has a lovely fountain out front, complete with lilypads.

The Mission had beautiful wrought iron and wooden window details.

The central courtyards, or quadrangles as the guidebook called them, are beautiful and serene.

The pathways held hidden beauty all along the way.

The cemetery was a peaceful place sheltered by an ancient, massive Australian Bay Fig.

Did you read Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell in 4th grade? Most of us in California did. That was actually based on a true story and the woman (named Karana in the book) left on San Nicolas Island for 18 years is buried in the cemtery at the Santa Barbara Mission.

Adam decided to become a friar.

Then, we took a scenic drive through the hills of Santa Barbara.

We almost went to the Botanical Gardens but instead, Adam took me to Alice Keck Memorial Gardens, a gorgeous oasis in the middle of the city.

There was a pond in the center, complete with turtles, koi and ducks.

I played with my macro settings.

The colors were amazing.

We commemorated our park visit with a picture.

After the park, we lunched at Santa Barbara Chicken Ranch.

{photo by Dale K.}

We left then to beat the traffic home, but I might have suggested a shortcut that ended up being a longcut and our trip might have taken a  t i n y  bit longer. We entertained ourselves by exasperating the people behind us who were very unhappy whenever we didn't pull the entire two feet forward as traffic inched along.

It was a lovely day. :)