Category: happy happy joy joy

celebrity sighting · country · favorite things · Girls run the world · happy happy joy joy · movies · music favorites

Gone Country

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EEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

I am only a little excited about a movie coming out. You mix movies with country music and Gwyneth Paltrow (LOVE) and you got a winner. COUNTRY STRONG with tagline, It Doesn’t Matter Where You’ve Been, As Long As You Come Back Strong. This is gonna be another one of my complete head-over-heels favorites that I buy and watch over and over and over

and over.

I haven’t been this excited for a movie about a singer since George Strait in Pure Country. I cry my eyes out when Harley gets the tickets to Dusty’s show, but she doesn’t know that Dusty is really Dusty. And then he comes out on stage and sings a personal solo to Harley. J.W. is brimming with tears as Grandma Ivy just smiles at nods at her grandson. If you don’t have a tear in your eye, your heart is made of stone.

Here is Kelly Canter  Gwyneth Paltrow singing Country Strong at the CMAs. And don’t forget, that is Oklahoma native and legend Vince Gill singing with her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9nWQrmOpFA

happy happy joy joy · Mallorca · yum

Nice Abs. Nice Legs. Nice Ball.

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Wimbledon 2010 champion Rafael Nadal practicing his side kick on the beaches on Formentera.  ‘Now the most important thing is for me to rest in Mallorca,’ he said, ‘to enjoy the summer there and then have a mini-pre-season practice.’

Can’t wait to see you back on the island Nadal. Until then, we will enjoy watching you kick a ball around, shirtless.

You are welcome ladies…..

food · friends · happy happy joy joy · hi there · new york city · usa

USA First Stop – NYC

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A little over a month ago I made my way back to the USA. First stop, New York City.

Almost immediately after arriving at my friend’s place in Park Slope, Brooklyn, we headed out for sushi and discussed upcoming events; Norah Jones concert at Prospect Park that evening and the itinerary for the Loos weekend in New York. The Whos? The LOOS! A group of eight rockin’ but diverse girls who went to high school together in the collegiate town of Stillwater, OK.

Shall we see what fun we got into? Part Uno.

Bess, Drew and I decided to brave the rainy rainy weather to see nine-time Grammy winner Norah Jones at Celebrate Brooklyn! in Prospect Park. I love Norah, she has an angelic voice and she can ROCK the guitar and piano. It was a soggy night with umbrellas strategically placed over one’s head to keep the rain off, and not stab someone in the eye. An impressive crowd still gathered and Norah told us “You have a beautiful bouquet of umbrellas”.

So far, five out of eight had arrived in New York. To make sure we started it off right we went to Grimaldi’s Pizza in Brooklyn for some delicious pie. Then we needed to work off all the pizza we ate. So off to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge!! I was super excited, after living in Manhattan for 2 years and the east coast for 4, I had never done this. Let’s GO!

 Afterwards, a few silly pics on the NYC subway.

hehe. and ….

By now, after all of our shenanigans, Beth had arrived, we paid and got the keys to our Manhattan apartment rental for the weekend, we went to the World Trade Center site, wandered around the NYSE, bought some I HEART NYC t-shirts, and headed back to Bess’s place for some homemade enchiladas and margaritas.

birds · celebrity sighting · friends · happy happy joy joy · love love love · new york city · tv land · usa

Loos heart Hoda!

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Hey you guys! It’s ME live from NEW YORK!

I have the greatest group of girlfriends that I grew up with in highschool and our name is the LOOBIRDS. Don’t steal it now cuz it’s so freakin cool. Well, we all met in New York for a weekend reunion which I will be giving highlights to, but wanted to show you our celeb sighting. It was ….. hold on to your hat….  HODA KOTB from the Today show. Who? Wha? Okay, so I had no idea who Hoda was, but hey, I live in Europe now. Yep. But now I know! And she rocks.

So, Hoda met the Loos. She was very sweet. Stay tuned for more NY sights!

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domestic goddess · Girls run the world · happy happy joy joy · she's crafty

Time to refresh

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Shhhhhhhh, do you hear that? Listen. There! That sad voice pleading, “please help  me”. That would be my workroom crying out for attention.

So gross! And depressing. And a new room can be only errrr, a few days away! Well, it took ME three days to paint three walls. It’s not like it was a need-it-done-now situation. Relax, it’s fun!

And so easy. All you need is to choose a color, buy some painter’s blue tape, a paintbrush, a roller brush and a plastic tray for the roller.

My color choice – tomato red. But it turned out a teeny bit darker, which I still liked. I also did a quick touch up with white paint where the ceiling meets the wall area. Painting the entire ceiling was unnecessary so why do it?

Some sites say to prep the walls, meaning paint them white first. I can see where that would be important if you were painting a light color but with red, I forgo that step.

Step ONE: Clean the walls to remove dust and dirt with water, a little mild dishwashing detergent and sponge.

Step TWO: Tape the trim, window, outlets and door frame. Remember to take off the tape before the wall dries so you don’t peel off any paint with it.

Step THREE: (This would be when you would prime the walls if you were going to) Brush on paint around trim and in the corners of walls, where your roller can’t reach, with a two-inch angled brush. Extend out two to three inches from windows, doors, and moldings.

Step FOUR: Use the W technique. For efficiency, start in the corner of a wall and roll on a three-by-three-foot W pattern, then fill it in without lifting the roller. Continue in sections until you’re finished. Paint one wall at a time.

Step FIVE: Paint the trim. When the walls are completely dry, tape where the trim meets the wall. Paint the moldings and the door and window frames with a two-inch angled brush. But I have tile trim and metal window frames, so this did not apply to me.

AND FINITO!! You are done! Good job!! Here are my fabulous new walls. Ahhh, zen, so much better. Ohhhhmmmmmm.

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breakin the law · drinkin' · fiestas · happy happy joy joy · Portland · usa

Trick or treat smell my feet give me something good to eat

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 Halloween morn arrived bright and early at 8am. It was 5pm in Spain and I read Time magazines until my cute sleeping friend woke to help me figure out her coffee machine. By noon we hit the costume store where I selected a lovely convict minidress and Donita, the gangster equivalent. Perfect, Halloween was ON. Donita had so many fun tourist ideas, the fish market, the Space Needle and a boat ride called the Duck but time was running a bit late, so next time Seattle, I promise!! After a quick stop at Taco Time with a very unsatisfied employee worker, we were off to Portland!

Oddly, once we crossed over the Oregon line our Oklahoma accents returned with a flourish. I am not sure if it was us getting tired or the fact that the state began with an O but the twang was back. And I liked it.

We arrived at my brother’s home with my nephew and orange margaritas patiently (impatiently?) waiting for us.  So nice to see my family, I never see them often enough. Avery changed into his spider costume and then was off to get some sugary sweets for Aunt Kim. He scored some good stuff – Nerds, Lollipops and Pixi Sticks were MINE. Now, time for the adults to celebrate Halloween.  My brother and his wife joined us out for Halloween at my mom’s goading and my happiness. It was such a fun night out with them and their friends. So much better than Donita and me going out to random bars and getting hit on by random men (hey, we’re cute, it happens a lot), but no worries my handsome German, they all pale in comparison to you….cue romantic music.

So, Halloween! Donita and I checked into the Hotel Deluxe in Portland. Awesome hotel, fabulous price, muy delicioso brunch….and just call front desk if you need ANYTHING. We spent most of Halloween at the hotel bar, The Driftwood Room, with our group of eight. I thought my department of corrections outfit was really cool and was in the mood for breakin the law….don’t worry, never did. A few went out to smoke and I was telling the rest of the table that I was the jail doctor because the word DOC was on my left front pocket. We made up silly jail doctor stories and when Donita came back from the smoke break I proudly proclaimed:

me: D, I am a DOCTOR. See, it says here (as I underlined the word DOC on the front of my outfit with my finger). DOC.

D: (grabbing my shoulders and turning my back to her) Um, no, you are Department of Corrections. As it says on the back of your dress.

me: (light bulb, blonde moment) OoooooHHH!!! Wow….damn, I thought I was a doctor!! Whatever, still going to be a doctor. Another vodka tonic please!

 

Soon The Driftwood closed and we hit a dive bar around the corner where we played the Jukebox and pretty much goofed off acting completely stupid. What’s new? The drink of choice was Sweet Tea Vodka. OH MY GOD! You mean I can have sweet tea as an alcoholic drink too? If you live in the south you know about sweet tea. It was goooood. Sweet Tea Vodka (mixed with Sprite?) , a Jukebox, hilarious time with friend and family – it will be a Halloween I will never forget. Soon, the dive bar was closing too, Donita and I grabbed handfuls of candy from the basket and ran out the door.

the crew at the Driftwood
D and me under the Oregon Beavers sign…hehe
notice the sweet tea to the right…

November 1st arrived nicely without a hangover and some scrumptious brunch at Gracie’s Restaurant in the hotel. My favorite breakfast ever was on the menu, eggs benedict, each of us ladies ordered one and shared – the classic with bacon, smoked salmon, baby spinach and wild mushrooms or Dungeness crab and Oregon Bay shrimp cakes. YUM. My brother had the corned beef hash which looked really good too. Sadly, once brunch was over so was my time with Donita. She was meeting BF#2 (or was it #3?) before she headed back to Seattle. D….you are a rockstar. Thanks for the escaped convict/gangster memories.

Next up: Hangin with the fam in Portland and the exciting world of Celtic Thunder.

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drinkin' · friends · happy happy joy joy · usa

Heeeeere I Come my lil U.S. of A.

GOING NINETY MILES3 Comments

Wowzers – I traveled from Spain to the East coast to the West coast to the middle and back. Here is where you could have found me: Queens, Seattle, Portland, Oklahoma City, Stillwater, Brooklyn and Manhattan.  And either a couch or sharing a bed with mom were my sleeping quarters….which was fine but I was happy to get back to my large bed in Mallorca. Is that so wrong?

I was going to go into the whole story about my taxi driver arriving to take me to the airport an hour late but I think this one sentence will be sufficient, albeit I almost went into complete panic mode. So, that said, I hopped a plane to Madrid and then to JFK. There I was greeted by my awesomely fabulous friend that I haven’t seen in two years. It was a quick stop but I got to see Jeannette, Emma in a witch hat and Hannah for the first time! Ooh, and my first (but def. not the last) everything bagel with vegetable cream cheese and a side of mustard. (I am sure if you read the post before you can start to guess I have some strange food preferences)  

Next morning it is off to Seattle! I have never been and until then could only gain a picture through Sleepless in Seattle. Where in the world is Meg Ryan? She did that film with that actor from Australia who got fat, um, um, name is escaping me. Still not there, didn’t he throw a phone at a hotel employee? Seriously, can’t think of it. Don’t fret, it will come to me. Anyways, Meg Ryan….whatever. Who cares. I mean she adopted a baby and she’s cute (except I think I liked her better without the lip injections, her and that other Australian, Nicole, she was married to Tom Cruise, best friends with Naomi Watts – whom I LOVE , really what is wrong with me I can’t remember names?) Ahh, Kidman, after fifteen minutes.

Okay, I am back. So, Seattle, flying Jet Blue for $120 (nice, plus no cost for first checked bag) from JFK-Seattle. I love Jet Blue, more room, your own TV, and the Terra Blues potato chips ROCK. The last hour or so of the flight we were over Montana and I saw no one. Lots of mountains and snow, LOTS of snow. Again, it was me with my forehead pressed against the little and probably really dirty window scanning and memorizing. Who knew Montana was so desolate. I went to college with a guy from MT and all I thought of was big huge ranch lands and buffalo roaming the state. But as we neared the Seattle airport it was crisp, cold water with trees changing colors, an explosion of blue, orange, yellow, green and reds. I felt happy. And excited to see Donita! A fellow OK girl who rocks the casbah plus the hottie has like thirty-four hundred guys dying for her attention.

I grabbed a taxi to her office downtown where we had a quick hug and she sat me at the bar for happy hour while she finished up the end of her workday. It brought back some nostalgia of my early advertising days in Dallas, the corporate world working in this astronomically sized building where everyone comes down to the bar for happy hour to blow off some steam, have a few drinks and flirt with fellow co-workers. It was fun to be a spy on the wall. A few asian girls to my left giggling about boys, a business man alone until a female around the age of 25 joined him and ordered a hot toddy because she was sick and an annoyingly high-pitched woman telling the four men she was sitting with that she couldn’t have a fourth beer because she needed to pick up her child from daycare. Hmm, maybe now is the time to call a friend?

I was drinking a Blue Moon and trying to forget it was 3am Mallorca time when Donita came down. After an order of french fries and another beer we headed off to her new apartment, so cute! She poured two glasses of white wine while I played iTunes from my computer and got ready to go out for the night. Sushi and then to a bar to meet boyfriend/person she finds hot #1.  Sushi at Umi Sake House (2230 First Ave, Seattle) was excellent and it was great people watching. Did I mention it was Hallow’s Eve, the night before Halloween and lots of people were already decked out in their garb.  Donita saw a guy who she thought was standing on a box because he was short but I looked over and it was his costume – his feet were in the box with shoes on top. Funny, so Donita gets one blonde  moment but don’t worry mine will be tomorrow. We got our leftover sushi boxed up, left it at a bus stop for the homeless (it was cold that night, it will be ok) and headed to the bar.

BF1 was there to buy all of the rounds (so nice of him!) and the bar was packed by midnight. I saw Snow White, a few vampires and possibly a monk, I was a bit confused at what he was going for. But Donita and I shared many laughs, as always and ended the night at Dick’s Drive-In. It’s a burger joint people, get your minds out of the gutter. And it was tasty, shall I begin a list of things I miss in the states that usually revolves around food? An everything bagel is one and yummy greasy burgers after a night of cocktails is another.

Stay tuned for Portland, Halloween and my blonde moment of the month, okay week. Kisses!

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