My "O" Wall.....

I have always wanted a wall dedicated to my last name....so ever since I knew that Chris and I were getting married I started collecting "O"s for Olson : ) We haven't been in our own place until now and all of them have been in storage. But oh do we have our own place now and they are all in place!!! I finally have my "O" wall!!! Yay!





P.S. I am also sooo glad that my parents came into town and that I didn't have to take Chris away from studying to help me put them up. Thanks mom and dad. And thanks to my next door neighbors who did not complain about the pounding on our shared wall : )

So You Think You Can Dance....

Last night I was invited to attend the live taping of So You Think You Can Dance! Let me tell you.......this is a major perk of living in L.A. Sooo fun!!! I could really become addicted to attending stuff like this. : ) It was so interesting. We lined up outside the studios and waited for awhile.....having tickets doesn't insure that you will actually be let in. We were given "filler" seats of VIP guests that did not arrive. Once we were seated, we were crossing our fingers that the guests did not arrive last minute and we would have to give up our seats. That would have been a bummer! After the show we headed to Maggiano's for dinner....I had never been there before....good food and great company! After dinner a couple of the girls went upstairs to use the restroom and found themselves in the right place at the right time!!! The dancers were having a private dinner at the restaurant.....so the girls asked for a picture!! What a fun night! Thanks ladies : )

FAMILY VISIT....

We had family in town this week for some California-style fun!!! Kira's kids were on Fall Break and Chance and Angela wanted to escape the cool weather of Chicago......so everyone jumped on planes and came out for a little visit! It was cozy in our apartment, but the more the merrier!

Kira and I headed to Disneyland on Thursday.....always a great choice. We had a blast! Emery couldn't get enough of the "fast train" ride (Big Thunder), we loved Buzz Lightyear, and got sick on the tea-cups! Chris joined us a little later in the afternoon for a couple hours (on a break from studying for mid-terms). Kira and I finished the night with a little Splash Mountain and fireworks. The kids did great....a fun time was had by all : )











We hit the beach on Saturday. Emmet played in the sand ALL day and Emery couldn't get enough of the waves....I think we jumped waves for a good solid hour at one point : )











And of course, what would a trip to California be without a trip to Wahoo's!!!





Such a fun weekend everyone!!! It went by WAY to fast!!! Thanks for coming....visit again soon!!!

GRATEFUL HEART...

My heart is full today. I have had one of those days, where......I'm involved in the normal/insignificant/routine activities of my day and then suddenly something makes me pause............ and I soon find that I have a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. I am so grateful for the countless blessing that I have in my life. I have so many. Today........ I am simply grateful.

THE HUMAN SLING-SHOT....

Chris has this contraption best known as "the human sling-shot". This lycra toy has traveled with us from Milwaukee, to Arizona, and now to sunny California. The other day, Chris brought it out to one of our outings at the track. He knew that our new friends would be willing to try it out!

You stretch this baby out as far as it will go.....and you criss cross paths until the "unlucky" someone is forced to the ground.

Here's Matt and Shannon testing it out....

Chris explaining the directions.....

And off they go.....

The end result!!!

Shannon and I enjoying the show : )

SANTA MONICA PIER.....

Fun outing yesterday.....Santa Monica Pier! I had never been there before, so thanks Miss Shannon for the invite. : ) Crew likes to ride his little Schwinn....so we hit the bike path along the beach and then walked along the pier. The weather made for the perfect escape from the heat. The marine layer never burned off.....so we had this eerie fog the entire time we were there. It felt like we were in a movie! Thanks for a fun day Miss Shannon and Crew!

A SIMPLE MATHEMATICAL EQUATION.....

A comfy chair.......



+ the ocean.....



+ a good read.....



+ this guy......



= a perfect day!!!

FARMER'S MARKET...

We went to the local Farmer's Market this week, and I have to say that this one had personality! It was the happening spot!



I absolutely LOVE artichokes.....look how cute this little ones are! Bite size!

A TRIP TO THE TRIM STORE.....

Erica and Emily needed to make a trip to the Trim Store to grab some supplies for baby bows, so Paige and I went along as well. Off to downtown L.A. we went. Oh my goodness....this was the trim store of all trim stores! It was incredible, and being in dance I would say that this store was a costume designer's dreamland. It was jammed pack, wall to ceiling, with ribbon, jewels, beads, trim, lace, you name it.






When we would spot something cute way up high, this guys would show off his skills and scale to the top to retrieve it!



Just for fun.



After the trim store we went to check out fabric......it wasn't too hard to find. In fact, it lined the sidewalks! We went into a fun fabric store, Michael Levine....and boy was I in heaven. Designer fabric galore!!! Needless to say, I now have hundreds of projects going through my mind. Can't wait to get started. Did I mention that I am so happy to be living in L.A?? L.A. and I are going to get along very well!!!!