Thanks for a great year, 2012!

2012 was a pretty good year for me. Some downs, but nothing too significant. It was a year of mosoly ups. One of my favorite things is travel. If I could find a way to travel professionally, I would. The last 12 months have included some pretty great trips.

February - Laughlin, Nevada

This isn't a far or fancy trip but it's always a nice getaway. It's a gambling town on the Colorado River - a mini Vegas essentially. I went with Tiffany of Polka Dotted Cats to celebrate her twin sisters' 21st birthday.

April - New Orleans, Louisiana

Again, me and Tiffany traveled together. This time to the Big Easy. Unfortunately we found the cool stuff right before the trip ended. I hope to visit again in 2013 to see a Saints game with Claire of Bicoastally!

August - San Diego, California

Headed to with Kathrin of Shop.School.Sleep. to Tiffany's for a birthday weekend! Highlights included Sea World, playing tourists in the city, and celebrating my 29th with great friends.

August - Las Vegas, Nevada

Back to Nevada with Kathrin. This time it was to Vegas for her little sister's 21st birthday. Hands down one of the best Sin City trips I've ever been on. Shopping, great food, and celebrating in style all weekend.

October - Perth, Melbourne, and Sydney, Australia

This trip was for work and although it was a lot of work and little sightseeing I am lucky to have had the opportunity. Three full weeks working Down Under and seeing what sights I could - including beautiful beaches and adorable animals.

November - Chicago, Illinois

The Ultimate Weekend Update! I had an amazing time and made IRL, life-long friends with Dana of five30three, Sami of Sami's Shenanigans, and Chris of Chubbette Tales. We literally group text on a daily basis and these girls are my fav.

Pretty good, eh?! I hope 2013 is even a fraction as amazing as 2012 was. Here's to a year of health, happiness, and lots of travel!

This Sh*t is Bananas

B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

I wouldn't really consider myself accident prone, but maybe I should open my eyes. I tend to get hurt while on vacation. There was that one time in Boston I twisted my ankle, ended up in the ER, and was on crutches. Then in the Dominican Republic I got stung by a bee on Steroids in the butt cheek and it was swollen and I couldn't sit on it. And just last weekend I was in Chicago and slipped on a banana peel. A BANANA PEEL. Is that even real life? Sadly, I can't make this crap up.

As my blogger friends and I walked up to the bean I stepped on a banana peel and almost fell, but caught myself. That tweaked something. At least we got a cute pictures in front of the Bean right after it happened and you can't even tell I'm in pain!

(skip paragraph if you are easily grossed out)

After a few days of weird pain, I noticed blood and liquid coming out of my belly button. Sorry for the visual! That was enough to scare me into a doctor's visit.

My diagnosis? Tore my fascia tissue above my belly button. There was concern that I had a hernia, but I think I'm in the clear.

Yay for clumsy traveling!

The Ultimate Weekend Update

This past weekend the three Weekend Update hosts met in real life! I traveled from LA, and Sami from Denver, to Chicago to stay with the amazing hostess, Dana. Such.a.blast.

Dana was the most gracious of hosts. She's seriously the sweetest and planned a great weekend. And Sami is really is full of shenanigans. Girlfrand busted out in song and dance during a boat ride we took! These ladies are amazing.

We were lucky enough to have Chris of Chubbette Tales with us all weekend as well. Chris in two words: hilarious and fabulous. It was great having her and Dana show us around all weekend! And because the trip was above and beyond we also got to hang out with Paige of Little Nostalgia all day Friday and Mary of Little Bit of Class Little Bit of Sass for dinner Saturday.

The view from Sears Tower (now called Willis Tower) | Sitting on the Skydeck - 103 stories high -facing my fear of heights | with Paige on the Skydeck

Sami, me, Chris, Dana, Paige!

The Bean |  Famous Chicago sign | Me in front of the Wrigley Field

Dinner at RPM (Giuliana and Bill Rancic's restaurant) | lobster caprese salad | Sami & me | Me, Chris & Sami

The Chicago skyline during the day, at sunset, and at night

Unfortunately I didn't get any great pictures of the three of the Weekend Update hosts together, or even a decent one of Dana and me. I think Dana did though so I'll have to steal her photos ;)

Thank you all for linking up with us - weather it's every week, every once in awhile, or this is your very first time. We really do love hosting and it amazes us how many people link up. I love getting to know fellow bloggers and this has been the perfect opportunity. So when you're linking up, don't forget to say hi! So many people are joining us that it's hard to keep up but if you leave a comment I'll be sure to stop by your blog.

What did you do this weekend? Link up with me and my co-hosts Dana of five30three and Sami of Sami's Shenanigans and tell us all about it. We just ask that you follow these rules:

1. Blog about your weekend.

2. Add the badge (below) to your post.

3. Add the blog post link to the linkup below.

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I'm off to Chicago!

Tomorrow I hop on a plane and head to Chicago! I get to spend three glorious days having the ultimate weekend with my Weekend Update co-hosts Dana of five30three and Sami of Sami's Shenanigans. Dana and Sami already had plans for an epic meetup and then they were sweet enough to invite me! We're also spending time with Mrs. Chris of Chubbette Tales! It's my first time in Chicago and although I am super scared of the cold weather (LA doesn't get colder than the 50s...when it's REALLY cold), I'm really eager to meet the ladies and see the sights.

Now jumping back to yesterday - yeah I'm all over the place - I am proud to announce that I had a good hair day. You know that feeling when you wear a new outfit or your makeup just looks right? That was me yesterday. Curls and bows.

In other news, we started the Biggest Loser at work two weeks ago. As of last night, I've lost 5 lbs-ish. I keep weighing myself with boots on after breakfast so I may have lost 6. I allowed myself a bit of Thanksgiving cheating and plan on a few cheats in Chiacgo, but overall I'm sticking to eating healthy (1200 calories and cutting sugar) and exercising three times a week (at least the first week I was exercising). IF I lose the most I get $200. Wish me luck!

And lastly, who is pumped for the Target + Neiman Marcus Holiday Collection? On Saturday Dana and Sami have plans to do some damage at the debut. I may or may not make a purchase. I'm still trying to save after my Australia trip earlier this month plus pay for three root canals which alone cost nearly $2,000 :( If I were to buy something, I wouldn't mind the Prabal Gurung Cape!

Finally linking up with my favorite sorority sister who I've never met, (yes, same sorority, Delta Zeta, but at a different school!) Shanna of Because Shanna Said So.

      Photo courtesy of Wikipedia, Business of Fashion and Chic and Glamourous