Allie in Cali

I went to visit my brother Matt and his beautiful family: wife = Kimber and daughter = Kierra. They are a gorgeous bunch!

We visited Matt at work! I got to see his office and meet his co-workers!

After I arrived on Saturday night, we stayed in a fun hotel, The Bahia Resort. See Sunny in SoCal. Then, on Sunday we went to Sea World. Most of it was a little overwhelming for little Kierra, but she did like the whales.

After going to Sea World, we went to Filippi's Pizza Grotto, which was delish. Kierra tried a lemon. 

We arrived at Matt and Kim's house in 29 Palms, and they have a great place!! Kim has done such a beautiful job of decorating! She is so artistic - great colors, themes, and textures. She needs to come decorate my house :-)

On Monday, I got to meet Lindsey and Morgan. I showed everyone how I make Baked Macaroni and Cheese from the Joy of Cooking Cookbook. I also got to see Morgan's dancing skillz.

Kierra, on the other hand, was too busy playing with Chewie to dance.

On Tuesday, Kim and I had a girl's day, including lunch and pedicures. Our toes were gorgeous.

For dinner that night, Matt's friend Jeff came over, and he was really cool. Kim made the best eggplant parm I've ever had! She is such a great cook and hostess!

At dinner, we all got to see another Kierra Trick.

Wednesday was a Lazy Day. I was really excited to meet two of Kim's friends, Lexi and Ivy. They were really nice girls. We just relaxed and watched Shrek :-)

For dinner, Matt and Kim took me to Appleby's. For dessert, we went to the best frozen yogurt place ever, Utopia Yogurt! When you go there, you take a cup, and it's self serve. You pick from about 12 different kinds of yogurt, and then they have a whole long table of about 40 toppings to choose from. Once you have made your sundae, they just weigh it, and you pay. It was amaaaazingggg.

Thursday was a Sad Day. Matt and Kierra drove me to the airport. The only part of it that was good, was that Matt and I had three hours to chat in the car and catch up. We talked for the whole ride. Clearly he has found a great life out there. I miss him like crazy, but I am so proud of him, and I can't wait to go back soon :-) Thanks Matt and Kim for such a great visit!!!

Sunny in SoCal

I missed out on writing some blogs. Here's the update: I'm in Cali visiting Matt and Kim! Check out where we stayed in San Diego before we came out to their house in 29 Palms.

Traveling Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down

So, traveling is always a bit of a risk - good moments and bad moments.

Here's a running list of things that have happened:

1. Flights leaving on time: Thumbs up.
2. Friendly people: Thumbs up.
3. Too much talking from friendly people (I'm not into talking when I'm traveling): Thumbs down.
4. Someone being gassy on the airplane: Thumbs down.
5. Real food and good wine while you are sitting in the airport: Thumbs up.
   
6. Watching at the airport bar while SU loses against Nova: Thumbs down.
7. Going to California to visit Matt, Kim, and Kierra!!! 

Powder

Mikey and Lacey came to visit this weekend. Good times.

We went to Labrador Mountain so that Lacey could learn to ski before she and Mike go to Vermont next weekend. The conditions were amazing. Hardly any ice. A rarity for CNY.

A photo of Lab

This is the kind of snowboard I ride, a K2 Lunatique. Tim just got it for me with

 awesome Ride bindings for Christmas. Love this board <333

Mikey and Lacey at the bar at Lab. Special on Yuengling Light, $2.50 drafts, yummm. 

That guy behind Lacey = solo person who took the corner in a crowded bar = party foul. 

Can't wait to see these two again soon xoxo

Color and Adventure on a Cloudy Day

"So she sat on, with closed eyes, and half believed herself in wonderland, though she
knew she had but to open them again, and all would change to dull reality"

Inspired by LaceyInTheCity, I have decided to start a blog. After a few days of consideration, I've decided to call it "Allie in Wonderland," and Tim (husband), MikeyD (friend), and Lacey (inspiration) thought it was a good title, so that works for me. 

Why wonderland? Because it's everyday life, but seeing it with a little more color and adventure.

Example: Syracuse is snowy, cold, and cloudy. But because of all that, we get days like the one you see in the picture above.  

So it's those moments of color and adventure in an otherwise dull setting that I want to write about in this blog, and I'll try to capture it all through images, quotes, and stories.