I left my heart in Napa

Day 1

Whenever someone asks me what my favorite part of the trip was, I hesitate to answer. There was not one "best part". There was a best city (San Fran), a best scenic view (Point Lobos State Reserve) but I can't pinpoint one best part. However, Napa comes to mind as one of the most beautiful places.

Our plane landed in Sacramento and we stepped out of the airport and underneath a clear blue sky. This was the beginning of ten straight days of uninterrupted blue sky. I think I have a skewed vision of California weather because of this trip, considering Napa had just had a rainy spell before we arrived. It was about an hour drive to Napa, and I could not stop staring out the window for the whole trip.  As we got closer to the Napa Valley, the landscape became more and more foreign to me.  The rolling hills seemed like they were going to swallow me up.  One minute, the road would be winding through these hills and the next moment we would be in a valley surrounded by a ring of mountains.  I could not figure out what was so different about these hills. I live in Pennsylvania, so I'm used to hills. I think the difference was that the hills that I'm used to are almost always covered in forest. So the trees kind of mask the slope of the land. The hills in the Napa Valley are like green humps that are just dotted by trees.

I had plans to find a cute place in Napa for lunch. Maybe a nice cafe and a salad with locally grown produce. But then we saw In-n-Out Burger. Frank's instincts took over and he swerved the rented Dodge into the fast food palace. I can't say I put up much of a fight. In-n-Out is only on the west coast and we had heard so much about it from friends who had been there. I won't go into detail about a burger, but let me say, best burger I have ever had.

We got into town a bit early so we could not check in yet. We checked out downtown Napa, drove around a bit and stopped in Oxbrow Market.We could not just walk by Kara's Cupcakes without getting something, so we both got mini-cupcakes even though we were feeling the effects from a burger-induced coma.

We checked in to the Inn next and were both a bit nervous. We had never been to a bed and breakfast before and didn't really know what to expect. We stayed at the Old World Inn, which is a famous B&B in Napa and was featured in Oprah magazine (so it had to be good right?) The owner showed us around the cute victorian house and showed us to our room, La Boheme. The room was beautiful and cozy (we had the smallest room because we're poor haha) and smelled like lavender. There were L'Occitane soaps in the bathroom (which of course I snatched up), a pull-chain toilet, clawfoot tub, etc.

We planned to go out to a nice dinner that night, but as soon as I sat down on the bed, extreme exhaustion hit me. We're talking about the kind of exhaustion where you start crying for no reason because your THAT tired. So it was a gorgeous afternoon in Napa, we were at a fancy B&B and we ended up watching trashy talk shows and napping away the rest of the day. We had been traveling since 4 am and we were three hours jet-lagged. I woke up for dinner but wasn't even hungry. I could not justify spending a lot of money on a fancy dinner out when I wasn't even hungry. So we went out, I got a smoothie from Starbucks, Frank got some beef jerky from Target and we called it a night. We went back to the Inn to find a tray of gourmet chocolate desserts and some wine set out in the dining room. Game on.

We spent the rest of the night eating chocolate (ok that was just me) and drinking wine in bed. Of course I had to set up the tripod to capture it.

We both promptly fell asleep before 10 pm, which would happen almost every night of our trip.

I'm baaaaaaaack . . .

I almost peed my pants with excitement when I saw this blog post: I Love Awards

Yay! I got an award! I have never gotten an award in anything, unless you count a couple art contests I was in as a child. This is why I love the blogging community, everyone is so encouraging. I definitely plan on passing this award on, as soon as I get my post-vacation shit together. What a great motivation, after coming back from a two week blogging hiatus. It definitely gives me the motivation to get back to daily posting.

Speaking of vacation . . . wow. California was absolutely drop-dead beautiful. Except for LA, but i'll get to that. I plan on reviewing the trip in several blog posts, but i'll try to pepper in some different posts because, frankly, I worry that it might be boring to other people. But I really need to get this down on words, for myself. I'll try to keep it interesting :)

Also, thank you to my new followers that I got while I was away! I'm working on adding you to my blogroll and following you. And I promise lots of comments as soon as possible. (I make this sound like a huge task, but who am I kidding, I have like twelve followers haha).

Pacific Coast Party!

I have a lot of stuff going on right now, and luckily it's all good stuff!

Remember the post from two days ago, when I was talking about needing to be more positive, especially about my career? Well somehow, in those three days I managed to land three new writing projects! These are my first paid, commercial gigs. I've had commercial gigs before, which were unpaid because I did them as a favor in order to build my portfolio. And of course I get paid for writing, but that stuff has been local magazines and online content writing. But I knew that some of the higher paying gigs were available offline, aka in the REAL WORLD. Contacting these marketing agencies, sending them my resume and writing samples was a pretty big leap for me. I stepped away from the world of low-paying, but consistent online writing jobs. I feel a lot more accomplished now that I'm working with REAL people in REAL offices. Its nice to get out of the house and coffee shops once in a while, and feel like part of the working world. Plus the people at the small marketing and ad firms that I met with have been great. I love to surround myself with creative and enthusiastic people. It is also a huge relief to take a small break from LOOKING for work and to actually be doing what I love: writing.

Now that news was exciting, but what I'm really excited about is the fact that I'm leaving on Friday for a ten day trip to California! This is huge for me, as I have never been west of Indiana. I'm definitely an East Coast girl. I'm a bit afraid that once I get to the west coast, I won't want to leave. But then again, they don't have this guy west of the Mississippi:

Yeah, I think I'll come back for him.

We are flying into Sacramento, then driving to Napa, (where we will be checking into our bed and breakfast (here's the link so you can drool over it). It was on Oprah, so it has to be spectacular, right? )
Day 2 is  a second day in Napa, touring the wineries
Day 3 and 4 are in San Francisco
Day 5 is Monterey and Carmel, plus another bed and breakfast
Day 6 Driving through Big Sur and spending the night at Pismo Beach
Day 7 Driving to LA and stopping at places on the way like Solvang, Santa Barbara, Malibu
Day 8 Spending a second day in LA, the driving to San Diego hotel in the evening
Day 9 A full day in San Diego, hopefully spending the majority of the time poolside, because we will be exhaused at that point
Day 10 back home

I am beyond excited for this. It will be amazing to spend ten days with my love, not thinking about work or his school or bills or anything else. Just driving the beautiful coast, seeing the pacific, exploring new cities, eating amazing food and drinking wine.

I asked my husband last night, "Are you ready to spend ten days with me, 24 hours a day?" The thought scares me a bit, but i'm sure we'll be ok. It will be strange though, not hanging out with another person beside each other. It will be a lot of "quality time" ha. Although we do have a friend in LA that we might hook up with.

My goal is to try to blog once a day if possible, just so I can remember what I did each day. If I don't have time though, I'm not going to feel pressured.

Negative Nancy

I'm writing this blog post in order to distract myself from continually staring at the Gmail tab in my browser. I'm waiting for the number to go from 943 to 944 (I rarely clean out my inbox) and hoping it will be a response from a potential client that I just quoted a project for. I'm very new to freelance writing and setting fees is one of the most difficult things to do. The range of prices depends on so many things. When you're starting out, it feels like you're just picking a random number out of the sky and praying the client will accept it. So in order to spread some good, positive vibes, I'm going to talk about optimism.

I'm a glass half empty kind of lady. As my mom says, I was a shy, nervous, worried kid and I haven't changed a bit. Well except for the shyness part, which randomly disappeared in college, for the most part. I blame PBR Light for that one. But for the most part, I worry about everything and always assume the worst in every situation. It's sad.

If you don't know me very well, you probably can't tell that I have this problem with negativity. I don't come across as Daria-esque. I don't wear black every day, I don't have a voice like Eyore and I even like listening to Ke$ha once in a while. But deep down inside, I doubt myself constantly. I always assume that I can never be as successful as other writers I read about. I know that I'm smart and talented, but for some reason I always worry that it just won't happen for me. This comes into play in other areas of my life too. Any time the phone rings at an odd hour, I think that its going to be terrible news. If I'm planning a vacation, I worry and worry that we'll have terrible weather. My husband asked me why I thought this way and here's the best way I can explain it: If you expect the worst, you'll never be disappointed.

What's funny is that my husband is the exact opposite of me in this way. His glass is definitely half-full. I swear that he can make good things happen with his mind. He told me that he used to constantly doubt himself as well, but decided one day to live by one word: positivity. Since then, he has been able to control his life with his thoughts. Really, its creepy.

Remember that book, The Secret? I only made it about two pages into the book before I decided to put it down and switch to the latest Chelsea Handler book, but its basically about the power of positive thinking. If you visualize something in your mind and tell yourself you will get it, you can basically get anything. Some lady wrote the book and said the secret has been around for thousands of years. However, my husband (along with Oprah) basically claimed to have known about/invented the secret. He's been living it since before the book came out. Haha.

He has incredible luck. He can win Chinese auctions and scratch-off lottery tickets on a regular basis. He has incredible success. He applied for a job that he didn't really have the experience or major for, told himself he would get it, and got it. Now, just a couple years later, he has had several promotions, raises and has people twice his age working for him. He is considered the Doogie Howser of his industry. I know that he is smart and capable, but he always tells me that it is his positive thinking that makes him successful. I think it is some of both.

So now I am knee-deep in the world of professional writing and it is an absolute requirement to maintain positivity in order to keep my head above water. Daily rejections and constant criticism are just part of the job. This career is so important to me that I MUST learn to be optimistic, or I will fail. Luckily, I have someone to help teach me. I'm hoping that my husband's amazing outlook on life will rub off on me. I am making it a goal to try to be optimistic.

Is your glass half-full or half-empty? Is it just me that has these neurotic thoughts? Any advice on how to live optimistically?

Stenciled Pillow Cover Part Deux

I finally got around to finishing the pillows that I started here. It's amazing what you can get done when you are procrastinating and putting off actual work.

I left off with the stenciled from square of the pillow. The next step is to cut out two more rectangles of fabric. The width of the rectangles should be the same as the pillow but the length should be about four inches shorter. This will create an overlapping opening that you can stuff the pillow into. Finish the top edge of the two rectangles by folding the edge over 1/4 inch, pressing it, folding down another 1/4 inch and sewing it in place with a straight stitch.

Now lay your stenciled square down in front of your, stenciled side facing up. Line the bottom of one of the rectangle flaps up with the bottom edge of the square. The finished hemmed edge will be on the top and you want the "good" side of the fabric facing down, against the stenciled square. Then lay the second rectangle on the the top of the square, so it overlaps the first rectangle.

Now pin all around the perimeter of the square. Sew a straight stitch around the square. This is why I love this kind of pillow. Not only can you remove the cover and wash it, but you also don't have a weird looking seam that needs to be sewn after you turn the pillow right side out. All of these seams will look clean. After you finish sewing around the edges, use your sewing scissors to clip off the points of fabric on the corners. Make sure you don't get too close to the stitching though. This will help the corners turn inside out.

After this, just turn the pillows covers right side out and stuff the pillows in. Do this carefully. I ripped one of my stitches when I tried to stuff one of the cases. So I ended up going back to the sewing machine and sewing back and forth over the little sections where the flaps overlapped. This reinforced it much better. Here are some pictures of the finished products:

So far, I like the look. I think the white breaks up the blah of the all-beige couch. And the pattern of the stencil works with the Target pillows. Tada!

Please vote!

A while ago I blogged about that dress that I was going to wear to a wedding this week. Well, I returned it, due to a misguided comment from my husband.

Me: Is this dress too slutty for a wedding with your family?
Him: No. Well, yeah kind of.

So of course that diminished any bit of confidence I had about wearing the dress. After I returned it, I started looking for a new dress. But I was paranoid about everything I tried on. I didn't want to buy a dress that my mom would wear, but I also didn't want something TOO revealing. It seems all the dresses this season are those bubble dresses that practically reveal your lady parts. Normally, I'm not opposed to that. But this happens to be a wedding that I will be at with my mother in law and my six brothers in law. I don't need any comments about my boobs or lady parts at a family event. I probably went to fifteen different stores and visited some of them several times. I FINALLY found a dress I liked today. But then I put it on and took a picture of myself for this post and didn't like how it looked on camera. Of course. So I tore through my closet and tried on any dresses that might possibly work and now I need you to weigh in, if anyone is reading this. Three of these are old dresses and I'm not going to say which is the new one. Because I am so hyper critical of myself, I need outside opinions.

Yellow and Black Sun Dress

Black Strapless Dots

Black Belted Dress

Gauzy Floral Dress

I like how Wilbur is sitting in the back of the third one, just judging. Also please disregard the fact that both of the belts on the belted dresses are lopsided. And that my hair is a hot mess.

I apologize for the shallowness of this post, but I'm at a loss here.

Passive Aggressive Notes

I had to share this because I thought it was pretty funny.  The bank that issued our car loan called us recently to tell us they had not recieved our loan payment for the month. We thought maybe it got lost in the mail or something, because I definitely sent it.  We explained the situation and told them that if it didn't get there in the next couple days to let us know and we would send a new check.  They called several days later, said it still hadn't arrived, so my husband sent a new check.  Then we got this letter in the mail today:

Dear Client,

As you are well aware, the above referenced loan is seriously overdue.  We do not understand why you are ignoring our attempts to contact you in order to rectify your account.  It is your responsibility to contact us to discuss any problems you may be having at this time. 

Immediate arrangements must be made on your account to bring it current.  We will expect to hear from you immediately upon receipt of this letter.  You can reach me at 1-800-xxx-xxxx.

Sincerely,
Heather F*****

P.S. If your payment has been made and your account is up-to-date, please disregard this letter.

So I was kind of pissed when I read this.  So I wrote this letter back, on the back of her letter.  I'm debating about whether I should send it or not.

Dear Accounts Receivable Professional,

As you are well aware, our loan is one month overdue, which hardly qualifies as "seriously".  As I'm sure you are not aware, the word "seriously" is a vague and overused adjective which is not even appropriately used in your letter.  Although, I would expect a person with the name "Heather" to use this word with frequency and enthusiasm.

It is presumptuous and, in fact, incorrect to say that we have been ignoring your attempts to contact us.

Attempt #1 :  You called us and told us you did not receive our payments.  We told you that we sent the check and that it should arrive within days.

Attempt #2 : You called us and said our payment had still not arrived. We said we would send a new check, which we did.

The situation was well explained.  It is not our fault that you don't understand, but the fault of your parents, your genetics and the second-rate accounts receivable training academy which you attended, Heather.

As graduates from a respected business school, we would like to bestow some knowledge on you, to supplement your insufficient education.  A little customer service goes a long way, Heather.  If you had accessed our payment history, you would see that this is the first time we have ever been late on a payment.  If you had taken some notes while you were on the phone with us, you would have remembered the details of the situation.  Perhaps it is time that you draft a new generic stock letter to send to clients.  Your grammar and writing skills may benefit.

Sincerely,

Clients

PS. If you have received our payment and our account is up-to-date, please suck it. 

I called my husband to fume about the letter and apparently he never DID send the check. Not because we don't have the money, but because he is lazy. So, yeah, I won't be sending this letter, but damn it would feel good.  Still though, I think the letter was pretty cold, especially since they KNEW what had happened and we had never been late before.