happy endings

I have a theory.  OK, so it's not so much a theory, but an observation:  all the best TV shows have one thing in common--a great gathering place for the characters.  Seriously, think about it.  Every show from "friends" to "coach" to "sienfeld"--even "how i met your mother" features a place where everyone gets together to live life & have fun.  A place where they're a regular.  That's a pretty cool concept, actually.  I think it would be a blast to have a neighborhood pub or bar or coffee shop to gather with friends and unwind.  On that note....

Today I realized that I had an entire Sunday afternoon free--something that doesn't happen very often in my life.  I called up my friend Leah, who lives in Hollywood, and wound up driving to her place to watch football with her and some friends.  It was rainy in LA--also something that doesn't happen very often--so i picked her up and we headed a few blocks down the road to a bar called Happy Endings.  Happy Endings is the kind of place you'd miss if you didn't know it was there.  It's on Sunset Blvd & La Brea, but it's pretty unassuming from the outside.  We had the valet park my car (in true LA fashion) and headed into the place...

Leah has talked about Happy Endings before.  I've even been there once, but it was late at night and totally packed, so I didn't get a good look around.  But when we walked in this time, I was unprepared for the testosterone overload in the air.  There must have been 50 guys near the bar alone, each one in a different NFL jersey.  Men everywhere in backwards hats with pitchers of bud light rooting for their team, whose game was playing on one of the several TVs placed at odd angles around the bar.  And then there were the more colorful characters:  one guy in a saints jersey, leather football helmet, aviators, and face paint throwing a pretend football around the room; a really scary looking raiders fan (oh wait--that's every raiders fan!) that looked suspiciously like Danny DeVito; a girl with dyed red hair to match her Redskins jersey.  Cheers and boos would alternate from every corner of the place. I've been in lots of sports bars, but I've never seen anything like this.  It was like I'd died and gone to NFL HEAVEN!

We met up with some of Leah's friends (also regulars) and I got to watch 3 games at once (Jets/Broncos, Cowboys/Vikings, and 49ers/Raiders in case you were wondering).  The food was great too, and as more people joined us we added more jerseys to our corner booth.  I loved every minute of it!

This is Leah's neighborhood bar.  Part of me is so jealous that she has such a fun place in which to be a "regular."  But it just makes me more motivated to find a place like Happy Endings near where I live.  Honestly, what struck me the most was that people were sitting next to each other in all different jerseys.  There weren't really big groups of fans for any certain team--and that's what made it so fun.  What a great day in Hollywood--I can't wait to go again, and I can't wait to find my own Happy Endings (no pun intended)!

Battle of the Paddle

In the last few months, I have taken up paddle boarding.  What is paddle boarding, you might wonder?  It's a little difficult to describe, but it looks like this:

No, that's not me.  Just in case the dark hair didn't tip you off!

I'm no surfer.  I think, if I was going to become one, it would have happened already.  But I've found something in stand up paddling that I absolutely love!  I've been going with a good friend of mine  named Job, who has helped me get started and lent me his extra board.  We've been paddling around Newport Harbor, which is lots of fun, unless a boat passes by too close!


Last weekend, was the Battle of the Paddle--a stand up paddle race that draws competitors from all over the world.  Job was racing, so I drove to a beach about 40 mins. south of my house to cheer him on.  Lots of people will tell you that paddling hasn't really caught on yet.  That it's a relatively new sport, and not everyone is really into it.  Well tell that to the 80 paddlers entered in last weekend's event!

80 Competitors all leaving at once.  Watch out!

Job tearin' it up!

Check out that crowd!

With a $10,000 prize purse, the competitors didn't mess around, and I had a great time watching the 1.5 hr race from my safe and dry spot on the sand. It was crazy!  After Job finished, we hung out at his sponsors booth (Hinano Tahiti), and they hooked me up with lots of free gear--2 shirts, a towel, and some rainbow sandals.  It was such great day!  Maybe I'll compete in next year's race.  Or maybe I'll just stick to the harbor.....

This is more my style....glassy waters and a beautiful sunset :)

Top of the World

I just finished looking back at some of my blog posts from the last several months, and realized what a charmed life i lead.  I'm pretty blessed to have a great family and amazing friends, and i've been able to live out some pretty awesome adventures this year. 

but i've also come to realize that i don't need to jump off a cliff to have a great adventure.  so let me tell you what i did a few weeks ago with my dear friend Nichol.  We hadn't seen each other in a while (she's in physical therapy school, and by default VERY busy), so we decided to take a day and explore some of Laguna Beach's best-kept secrets.  We met for smoothies at the Orange Inn, right on a cliff overlooking the ocean. 



When i googled "smothies in laguna beach" this place came up recommended.  When we got there, however, we decided their sign should say "smoothie", singular, since they only had one on the menu.  It was pretty good though, and the atmosphere made up for the lack of selection. After drinking our lunch (haha), we headed to Top of the World Park, in the hills above town.  We hiked the trails and enjoyed a view of the ocean to one side, and sprawling green hills to the other.

I represented Baylor all day.  Sic 'em!

Because we didn't feel like the hike was enough exercise (and we might be a little crazy) we headed back to my house for a bike ride.  Nine miles later, we were sweaty and exhausted.  Nichol headed home and i took a shower & ran some errands.  Then i went to her house where we made dinner for us and her husband. fettuccine pasta with butternut squash sauce, garlic bread, and broccoli.  Yum!

 
 
I stayed till 11 talking with my friends, and realizing how lucky i am to have people i can be so relaxed with.  What a great day!