New Keys and a New Address

After endless searching, I found my new home! A little more than three weeks ago I got the keys to my beautiful loft. I've been MIA in the blog world because of the move and my new job! Two months ago I started a new position in fundraising at another theatre in San Diego. So needless to say, life has been hectic! 

I'm finally unpacked (mostly) and am having fun decorating and reorganizing. Moving is always a great excuse to go through all your belongings and downsize. I took a car full of things to Goodwill on Sunday and it felt great to rid myself of some clutter. But if you know me, you know that I'm a pack rat and hang on to things FAR too long. So I still have a ways to go in that department.  My new place has little storage, so I'm having to be creative in hiding my clutter - not just shove it in a closet. Thank goodness for Pinterest which has given me some great ideas.  

Here are a few photos from the listing for the condo:

I love the windows in the living room, high ceilings, beautiful new hardwood floors and spiral staircase. Max and Millie wouldn't go past the second stair for a few days, but they have finally mastered the winding stairs. When the place is a bit more organized, I'll post the "after" pictures. Here's my favorite addition to my new pad - Kate Spade bedding!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summers and staying cool... especially my East Coast friends! Not to brag (okay, maybe a little) but it's a perfect 75 degrees here in San Diego today. Every time I start to miss my beloved Carolinas and Virginia, I remember what the summer weather is like ;) But I do miss sipping sweet tea on the porch in summertime.


xoxo,
Jess

Meet Millie

Ever since my dog Max spent a month with my parents' dog Ringo at the holidays, I've been considering the idea of getting another dog. You can see the pictures of Max and Ringo meeting at Thanksgiving here. Then I came across a group in San Diego called Holly's Garden Rescue. The non-profit resues small breed dogs (mostly Maltese, Shih Tzus and Lhasa Apso) from shelters to find them good homes.

I saw one dog's picture in particular (they named her Cupcake) and I knew I had to meet her. On Sunday I brought Max with me to the foster home she was staying at. They instantly got along, rolling and wrestling in the yard together. She was so sweet and jumped right into my lap. I knew that she was a great fit for Max and I. They told me that she was a stray picked up by an animal shelter in San Bernadino, CA. It is a high-kill shelter that euthanizes dogs after only 5 (not even full) days in the shelter. She was rescued just in time. I've read up about the shelter, and they have some horror stories about how the animals are treated. It just breaks my heart. I'm so grateful that she was found and put up for adoption. 

From Holly's Garden's 

From our first visit meeting Millie

I went home and thought about for a couple of days and then on Tuesday night I adopted her. Max and her instantly started playing. I knew then that it was the right decision. I spent most of yesterday thinking about dog names, because I knew Cupcake had to go! After lots of great suggestions from friends and co-workers, I settled on Millie. I think it fits her well. She loves to cuddle and is very active and energetic. She is a maltese mix, but I think she looks a lot like Max! What do you think?

They are already best buds. I never had a dog until I got Max 3 years ago. And now I couldn't imagine my life without dogs. Whenever you're having a bad day, it's impossible not to be cheered up by these faces!



Revenge is back!

Revenge was FINALLY back last night with a new episode and will be new each week for the rest of the season! It is hands down the best new show of this season. I jumped on the Revenge train late after a friend told me I'd love the show. So, one weekend I started watching the episodes online and couldn't stop! I watched 13 episodes in one weekend. It's that good.

The opening line of the show is "This is not a story about forgiveness… this is a story about revenge!" It is set in the Hamptons, New York where the characters live a very priviledged life of yacht rides and cocktail parties. The main character Emily Thorne has well concocted plans to bring down the people that destroyed her life. The Grayson family had her father accused of a crime he didn't commit when she was just a young girl. Something about aiding terrorists in bringing down a flight.

She returns to the house in the Hamptons where she lived the summer he was arrested and begins to exact her revenge on the Grayson family and other people who were involved in his arrest. And part of that plan is cozying up to the Grayson son Daniel, and getting him to propose to her. It doesn't hurt that he's ridiculously handsome. (Side note: the actor is British, which makes him significantly more attractive in real life with his accent.) So far, each episode has centered around bringing down a different player in her revenge plan.

The cast is led by Emily VanCamp as Emily Thorne, and man has she perfected the death stare. I was so happy to see her back on TV after Brothers and Sisters was cancelled. I'm still mourning the loss of that show. The rest of the cast includes Madeline Stowe as Victoria Grayson, Gabriel Mann as Nolan Ross, Josh Bowman as Daniel Grayson, Nick Wechsler as Jack Porter and Christa B. Allen as Charlotte Grayson.

Here's a great video of Emily VanCamp talking about Revenge on the Ellen Show. Ellen is a huge fan of Revenge and has recently brought most of the actors on her show.

If you haven't seen the show yet, I encourage you to watch! But the story lines are pretty complex, so make sure to catch up online first. Set your DVRs - it's on ABC at 10pm on Wednesdays.

Are you watching Revenge? Without giving away spoilers - do you think Daniel finds out Emily's secret in the next episode? (The preview sure led us to think that!)

Throwback Thursday: Childhood memories

I had some fun editing some old photos on Instagram, and thought I'd share them on my blog. Who knows, maybe I'll make this a regular weekly Thursday post to share some old photos. I was lucky that I had a very snap happy with the camera mother who documented my childhood in detail. There are stacks of baby albums at home, and I think my mom took me to the photographer monthly until about age two. What can I say, I was pretty cute ;) 

Well, I'm very thankful that she did because now I have tons of photos to remind me of my wonderful childhood. I grew up in a small Virginia city near Washington, D.C. It was the perfect blend of Southern hospitality and historic charm. I have amazing parents who I am still extremely close with. I was an only child until I was 6 when my awesome brother came along. And now 22 years later we are still really good friends. I am a really lucky girl to have such an amazing family. 

Here's a few pictures that I had fun editing with Instagram. First is my beautiful mother and I on the day of my baptism, circa 1984. (9 months old)

This was on Easter Sunday, circa 1986. (2 years old) It was taken at my grandparents house, who I'm sure weren't happy that I was picking their daffodils. 

Here's me chilling in a tire swing at around the same age. I have my Dad and Uncle cropped out, but they were in some seriously awesome 80's attire. 

And then fast forward a few years to 1990, and here's a picture of my brother and I on his first Christmas. I was a proud big sis! 

What do you miss most about being a kid? For me it's the nap times. Or maybe that it was acceptable to wear ruffled socks with patent leather shoes. My mom tells me that I insisted on wearing them all the time, and had to bring a purse everywhere. Now I know where my purse obsession started. 

What are some of your favorite childhood memories? I'd love to hear them! 

Monday Musings: A picture is worth a thousand words... or a billion dollars.

I was pretty shocked to read the news today that Mark Zuckerburg announced that Facebook purchased the photo sharing app Instagram for $1 billion. WOW! This is a small company with 13 employees that made no profit from the app that's available for iPhone and Android. It has quickly grown to 30 million users. I recently got an iPhone last month and had heard the buzz about Instagram. So I downloaded the app and instantly (no pun intended) loved it! It's a place to create beautiful photos with many choices of filters that turn an ordinary photo into something unique. Here's a few that I've taken around San Diego recently. 

My neighborhood - the Little Italy Farmer's Market

Sunset on La Jolla Shores after Happy Hour

View from lunch on La Jolla Shores

Seagull taking off - San Diego Harbor

A walk along the Harbor on Easter Sunday

So, Facebook proved once again that they are taking over the world... I just hope they don't change Instagram too much. It's a great place to get to look beautiful photos without all of the ads and clutter of Facebook. So not only are pictures worth a thousand words, they're worth a billion dollars. 

Follow me on Instagram at @jessabell23. 

~Jess

Words to Live By

I have to admit that I tend to get writer's block with what to write about on here. I have lots of ideas running around in my head most days, but then I think "will anyone actually want to read that?" I've always been a fan of collecting quotes. When you can't think of how to say something well, why not find a famous quote that says it better? I used to keep a journal of quotes that I liked so that I wouldn't forget them. But now I have Pinterest for that... ahhh the wonders of technology. 


So in lieu of my own words, here's some of my favorite quotes that I've found lately. 

Source: lindawagner.net via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: 28.media.tumblr.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: sarahbear9708.tumblr.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: handletteringcite.wordpress.com via Jessica on Pinterest

I hope these provide you encouragement as they have to me. What are some of your favorite quotes? Please share in the comments!


~Jess

St. Patrick's Day at a Tyler Hilton concert

Instead of drinking green beer at the Shamrock Festival on St. Patrick's Day, I opted for a more low-key night at a coffee shop/music venue. And it turned out to be my best St. Patty's day yet! On Friday, I saw one of my fav. singers Tyler Hilton tweet that he was on a bus back to Nashville but was then headed to San Diego to play a show. I quickly googled his tour dates and saw that he was playing a small venue called Lestat's. And even more exciting was that he was doing a meet and greet before the concert! I quickly purchased my ticket, which was only $25!! What a deal!

I first became a Tyler Hilton fan from the show One Tree Hill, which has turned me on to some of my favorite artists. The show which is now on it's ninth and final season has always played amazing music and showcased up-and-coming artists. Tyler plays a musician on the show named Chris Keller and gets to play a lot of his music. He was frequently on the show in the early seasons, but wasn't on much in recent years.  I was so happy when they brought him back as a season regular for the final season! And to top it off, he had new music to play!!

Tyler's new album Forget the Storm comes out on April 3rd. Based off of the few tracks he's released, and what I heard at Saturday's concert, this album was worth the wait!! Tyler explained during the concert how the album was a long time coming, and it was difficult to put out the music that he wanted to while on a major label. So he started his own indie label called Hooptie Tune Records. That says a lot about an artist when they believe so much in making great music that they leave the security of a major label and risk it all to get their music heard.

When Saturday night rolled around, I arrived early to Lestat's and grabbed a spiced chai tea latte and peanut butter cookie (didn't have time to eat dinner, so that would have to do!) from their coffee shop. I'm definitely going back there to hang out! It's open 24 hours, and is a really cool spot! Attached to the coffee shop is the small concert venue. I staked out my place in line and quickly made friends with some nice girls in line behind me.

I was glad I got there early, because when the doors finally opened, I was one of the first 10 people inside. I grabbed a seat in the first row right in front of the stage. Then to my surprise, Tyler came and sat down right in front of me on the stage and started chatting to us all. I knew it was a meet and greet, but I kind of expected him to be behind a table signing autographs like most meet and greets are. But this was a very casual venue and a small crowd. It spoke volumes to the what a nice guy Tyler is that he would spend the time to talk to everyone there, take pictures, and sign autographs. I told him that I lived in North Carolina for awhile, and while in Wilmington I saw many of the spots where they film One Tree Hill. He asked if I saw Chris Keller's cd store (which I sadly didn't) and then joked that it's now some kind of gift shop. He was so easy going and fun to talk to. Here's my autograph and picture with him.

The meet and greet was only suppossed to last 30 minutes, but it lasted about an hour as Tyler made sure to talk to everyone. Then a young girl named Savannah Philyaw opened for him. Apparently, last year on St. Patrick's Day she played her first ever public performance opening for Tyler there at Lestat's. She was really sweet and reminded me a bit of Taylor Swift. She too is a young blonde, plays guitar and writes her own music. I would guess that she's still in high school. I hope she gets a big break like Taylor Swift did because she definitely had some great potential.

Tyler's guitars after he tuned them up in the sound check.

Then Tyler played an amazing set, for over an hour! He played some old favorites and a lot of his new songs from his upcoming album. I have to say that he's even BETTER in person! I will try to post the videos I took from my iPhone soon. I just got my first iPhone a week ago and I love it! While getting a pedicure, my Droid fell out of my lap and into the bath of water... oops! But it was a good excuse to finally join the iPhone world. I kind of wish I broke my phone sooner, because I love it!! Anyhoo... back to the concert.

Tyler sings with so much emotion and heart in his voice. And his lyrics are incredible. I could listen to him all day :) And what makes me an even bigger fan is how humble and nice he is. He had us laughing between songs with stories. Before playing one of his more well known songs, he recounted getting excited at a karaoke bar that the song was in the book. He then sang the song at the bar -- and joked that because he's not that well known he can get away with singing his own songs at karaoke. He then said, "But J.Lo could never do that!"

One of my favorite songs that he played at the concert was on One Tree Hill's season premeire this year, called Loaded Gun. It's on his new album, and I'm in love with it! Here's Tyler belting it out -

And here's a short video of the song from a scene in OTH -

After the concert, Tyler didn't run backstage, but stayed to chat with everyone some more. We talked about the Carolinas and how we both missed it. I had such an incredible time and can't wait to go to another of his concerts. He's coming back at the end of May to play the House of Blues in San Diego. I will definitely be going! So on the off chance that Tyler actually reads this (you best believe I'm tweeting the link to him!), thank you so much for an amazing show and for taking the time to hang with us. I wish you all the best in your music career and with your new label. Thanks for making honest and GREAT music.

~Jess