Planning my Dream 20th Anniversary Vacation with GoWithOh

October 30, 2013 charleneaross12 Comments

In March Dave and I will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. In the early years of our marriage, I pictured celebrating our 10 year anniversary in Vegas renewing our vows with an Elvis impersonator. (Fat Elvis – duh!) Instead we set up camp in two beach houses with my family – about 15 of us total, dining on chili cheese dogs and sleeping on an air mattress; all the hoopla reserved my for nephew’s first birthday celebration instead of our ten year union.

Life never really does turn out as planned, does it?

For our 20th wedding anniversary I’ve always dreamed of returning to where we got engaged – Italy.

But… (almost) 20 years later – two moves, different jobs, financial ups and downs, a mortgage, two kids – one less than two years away from college… life and those plans right? While we are lucky to be rich in love (most days), our current bank balance suggests that we’re much more likely to be celebrating our 20th by clinking our Chianti glasses at our favorite Italian restaurant with views of the hills of Agoura, than at a quaint trattoria with views of the hills of Tuscany.

But last week I read this blog and found out about a contest called “Be Our Guest Tester” hosted by the website GowithOh.

GowithOh rents vacation apartments to travelers in 17 European cities – five of them in Italy. (Florence. Milan. Rome. Pisa. Venice. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And yes!) To enter the contest all I have to do is write a blog post about which apartment I would chose from their site and why, and tag the post on Twitter using the hashtag ##GwOGuestTester. Fantastic!

When Dave and I travel to Europe we love staying in quaint pensions, small bed and breakfasts, or apartments like Europeans do. Sure, luxury hotels are lovely, but if you’re going to experience another country, I think the best way to do it is by traveling -and living- like a local.

GowithOh just happens to have 255 apartments located in my favorite Italian city – Florence. We returned to Italy and visited Florence on our second anniversary. I immediately fell madly and deeply in love. I wept when I stood next to The David, I was so overcome with its beauty. I raised my hands in victory when I climbed all 463 steps to the top of Il Duomo. We crossed the Arno River and picnicked on a hillside taking in the wonderful Tuscan views. And you want to talk tears of joy? I think I cried every time I ate because the food was so fresh and so incredibly delicious, it made me the happiest I’d ever been every time I ate. (Which was as often as possible.)

So Dave and I started cruising the GoWithOh website to pick out our dream 20th anniversary trip apartment. Where would we stay if money was no object? It was almost impossible to choose.

We loved ceilings and the uniqueness of this one.

And we loved the traditional Florentine style of this one.

But this one simply took my breath away. That view? Are you kidding? This is where Dave and I would choose to spend our 20th Anniversary 2nd Honeymoon.

Apartment-with-Go-with-oh-Florence-apartment — Yes please!

But wait… there’s more…

We’ll spend our afternoons resting from sightseeing and rejuvenating before heading out to the piazza for an evening stroll and (a tears-of-joy-inducing) dinner here.

We’ll prepare a simple breakfast here…

Then eat it here…

None of your business what we’ll be doing here. (But it might or might not rhyme with peeping. Shut up! Sightseeing makes you tired!)

And trust me, for a European bathroom – this one is HUGE! (Love that tub!)

I might not win the GoWithOh Guest Tester contest, but that’s okay. We’ve had a great time perusing at the apartments they have to offer. Looking at all the pictures and planning our dream trip (even if it is only in our hearts and our heads) was almost as fun as being there.

Almost.

Paris… London… Berlin… where would you go with GoWithOh?

Boys Do Things Girls Would Never Do

October 29, 2013 charleneaross1 Comment

Boys don’t like to say goodbye. At least not like girls do. My husband always complains that it takes me forever to leave a family function because I have to tell everyone goodbye. Uh… isn’t that called being polite? Isn’t that what people do? Apparently not men.

Chandler just went to his first school dance. Homecoming. He went with a group of friends instead of going with a girl. (Thank god because it’s his junior year and the last thing he needs this year is the drama and the distraction of a first girlfriend.) The kids he went with are his core group – his band friends that he’s hung around with since 6th grade.

But he left the dance with his track and cross country friends.

“Did you tell your friends you were leaving?” I asked him.

He kind of shrugged and mumbled something. (I’ll take that as a no.)

Who does that? Apparently boys.

A girl would never do that. Now a girl ~~might~~ would definitely go somewhere with her girlfriends and leave with a guy. But she would never come with one group of friends and leave with another. And if she did – at least she’d say goodbye.

And men think women are difficult to understand.

Is this a universal thing or is it just the men in my life who don’t feel the need to say goodbye?

Wine, Olive Oil, Gourmet Food, Oh My!

October 21, 2013 charleneaross4 Comments

Last Wednesday I received a text from my friend Kim. “Wanna come with me to a wine bar opening in Thousand Oaks?”

I was supposed to go to the gym. But my workout buddies had shifted their workout to the early morning (when I’m stuck at home slaving away over blog posts to entertain the ~~masses~~ dozens), so I wouldn’t be flaking on anyone. (Except for myself and my new commitment to fitness – but whatever with that, right?) And I had run four miles the day before.

So blowing off the gym to go wine tasting (for free) – not even a dilemma, right?

But If you want to know the truth, I was really, really tired. What I wanted to do more than anything was blow off the gym and spend the night of loafing around on the couch.

Fortunately for Kim I am a good friend and a trooper. I couldn’t let her taste wine alone. So I changed out of my work clothes into something a little less officey, put on shoes that would have made my friends Tina and (a different) Kim proud, and went out for a little Conejo Valley mid-week wine tasting.

Michael-Kors-shoes — Pretend I don’t have fat ankles and these gorgeous shoes actually look cute on me!

Kim had been invited to the opening of We Olive in The Oaks Mall. Part wine bar, part gourmet food shop, part olive oil tasting (yes, olive oil tasting!) shop and 100% FABULOUS.

We-Olive-Thousand-Oaks — Thousand Oaks’ newest wine bar (plus so much more).

We chatted with the franchise owners of the store, one of the food vendors, and with the very cute Josh from the parent company.

We-Olive-Franchise — I never give up the opportunity for a photo with a cute boy. (Even if I am old enough to be his mother. Sigh…)

The wine bar features small-production, boutique California wines and every wine I tasted was excellent. I especially enjoyed a Syrah from the vineyard Niner in Paso Robles. (I will definitely be visiting them on my next trip to Paso.)

The olive oil was wonderful – yes there is a difference (and it’s huge) in taste and quality from the stuff I usually buy at Costco. Josh gave us a tasting of a lemon-infused olive oil with aged balsamic vinegar that was to die for. (You sip it out of a little cup – kind of like tasting wine, except you take a MUCH smaller sip.)

We-Olive-Extra-Virgin-Olive-Oil — Extra virgin Olive Oil (EVOO for those in the know) and balsamic vinegar tasting – yes please!

Plus, this happened…

cheese platter — The people at We Olive certainly know how to make a beautiful cheese plate.

I will definitely be heading out to We Olive during the holidays to pick up some delicious party food (unique pestos that can be used as a base for some amazing dips), stocking stuffers for my husband (blue cheese Dijon mustard – hello), and of course maybe a bit of wine tasting. You know, to reward myself for all the tireless and selfless shopping for others I’m sure to be doing.

We Olive is sounding pretty awesome, right? Of course it is. It’s located just across from Forever 21 (in the newish outdoor section between The Oaks Mall proper and Muvico). So the next time you drive your teenage daughter to the mall, give her twenty bucks and send her to Forever 21 to buy something inappropriate for school on her own while you hang out at a lovely wine bar. Sample some pesto. Treat yourself to some gourmet olive oil. Buy a nice bottle of California wine. And remember to thank me for blowing off the gym so I could hang out with my friend Kim and discover this wonderful gem.

(You’re welcome.)

Running Sucks… Still

October 14, 2013October 14, 2013 charleneaross5 Comments

I’ve been running for a little over a month now. Every Sunday with a run club and a few times during the week. My run club gives me running homework and I’m supposed to run five days a week, but I usually only run three. Or two. I like to lift weights when I go to the gym. Or take a class. Or anything but run.

So why do I do it? Because I have friends that push me. Friends that lie and say they hate running too and yet there they are running. If they can do it, I can do it. Even though I run so slowly. I’m always one of the last runners in. And my friends are there waiting for me when I finish, high-fiving me and telling me that I’m awesome and if there’s one thing I love it’s to hear that I’m awesome (even if it’s bullshit) so I keep running.

Also, since ending my Just Lose It program and taking up running I’ve lost an additional four and a half pounds. I stepped on the scale yesterday and saw my goal weight staring back at me. I immediately stepped off and stepped back on again, not trusting the number. But there it was again. I’ve lost 16 1/2 pounds in three months. Eating right, lifting weights, and running – it turns out it is possible to lose weight after the age of 45. (Who knew?)

And so I run.

Yesterday I ran four miles – four miles – and every step was tortuous. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t getting easier – it is. But it’s still hard. And terrible. I still hate every heart-pounding, joint-jarring, sweat-inducing, very unpleasant step.

I run intervals – which means you run for a certain amount of time and then you walk for a minute. I’m on the lowest interval (meaning I run for the shortest amount of time compared to the other runners in the club – the real runners, the runners who are doing a half marathon in two weeks) so I run for eight minutes and then walk for one. Or one and a half. (Or maybe sometimes two. Accidentally of course.) It’s hard to tell because this is what my watch looks like…

raymond-weil-watch — Not the ideal watch for running.

The second hand doesn’t really work -it kind of jumps- so it’s not a good timing watch. It’s hard to see the precise time. So it’s not really my fault if I walk a little too long. (Or run a little too short.)

Yesterday on my run -when my friends were a half mile ahead of me- a woman pushing a double jogging stroller with a toddler and a small dog seated inside turned the corner and ran alongside of me. I was keeping pace with someone pushing 50 pounds!

“She’s breathing really hard, Mommy,” the ~~snot-nosed~~ adorable little girl said.

“Yes, Mommy breaths hard when she runs too,” the running mom said effortlessly. I wonder if she lies to her kid like that all the time. I guess I should be grateful. She could have been honest. She could have said, “That’s because she’s old and only pretending to be a runner.”

I mean really, what kind of lunatic takes up running at the age of 48?

I suppose one that wants to stay ~~thin~~ healthy. One that wants to prove to herself that she can do something she never thought she could do. One that knows hard things are worth doing.

But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

The Beauty of Pinterest

October 7, 2013October 7, 2013 charleneaross7 Comments

Like most women I like beautiful things…

Bradley Cooper

Diamonds

diamond-bodysuit — You can totally see me wearing this, right?

And since Dave won’t let me date – which is the only reason I’m not Bradley Cooper’s girlfriend (obviously)…

or buy me diamonds – due to the violence and price fixing, not because he doesn’t think I’m worth it (so he says)…

if I want a little beauty in my every day life, Pinterest it is.

But, lately it seems Pinterest is starting to become a bit like Bradley Cooper and diamonds – unattainable.

I mean, I’ll never wear this little black dress…

My backyard will never look like this…

backyard-patio-with-pool — All that’s missing is a cabana boy with umbrella drinks.

Or this…

Outdoor-living-room — When do I move in?

And 35 years of applying make-up has never once resulted in anything that’s ever looked remotely close to this…

smokey-eyes — Gorgeous! (But I think if I tried it I’d look like a suburban hooker.)

But there is one thing I can do…

I can cook.

So lately I’ve been turning my Pinterest attention towards food. Beautiful, yummy, delicious food. Crock-pot meals. Appetizers. Desserts. I have been pinning away like crazy. And I’ve even made some of the recipes. Although I’m not sure my efforts would actually be called a success.

First I tried this crock-pot recipe for Mongolian Beef. Doesn’t it look gorgeous?

mongolian-beef-recipe — A crock-pot meal my kids would actually eat.

This is what happened when I made it…

mongolian-beef — Uh… not quite like the picture

In my defense it was Dave who got it from the crock-pot to the table. But still. I don’t think a pretty plate would have saved it. It’s no small wonder that Marley would not eat it. (Chandler however thought it was delicious.)

Then I tried this…

tomato-peach-burrata-salad — This is about as gorgeous as food gets.

Mine was almost as pretty…

Pinterest inspired tomato peach burrata salad — Not too bad

Except my balsamic reduction sauce didn’t really caramelize and came out rather runny. And the heirloom tomatoes weren’t as flavorful ask I’d hoped. (Maybe because I cheated and got them at Trader Joe’s instead of the Farmer’s Market.)

I was starting to feel like a Pinterest failure. My food was either ugly and tasty or beautiful and meh. There had to be some way I could bring the beauty of Pinterest into my real life.

And then I found it. Something I could do. Something attainable. Something I could make useful. Beautiful even.

I took my kitchen drawer stuffed full of plastic bags…

plastic-bag-storage — This is one heck of a mess!

And folded them like little flags. Now my plastic bag drawer looks like this…

plastic-bags-folded-like-flags — Home organization at it’s finest!

Yeah, I can fold a plastic bag like nobody’s business!

It may not be nearly as beautiful as this…

bradley-cooper — I might or might not have a Bradley Cooper (Secret) Pinterest Board

But at least it’s attainable.

Follow me on Pinterest and find out what else I think is beautiful

Have you ever tried anything you’ve seen on Pinterest?

Photo credits: Bradley Cooper, Diamond bodysuit, Pinterest, Little Black Dress, Backyard with pool, Outdoor living room, Smokey eyes, Mongolian Beef, Tomato Peach Burrata salad

A Brighter Smile and my First Giveaway

October 4, 2013October 5, 2013 charleneaross7 Comments

Last week I was offered a fantastic opportunity – a free trip to the dentist by choosing and booking a dentist on Brighter.com. Free dental care? Whoo Hoo!

Now, normally I don’t get too excited about going to the dentist. (Does anyone?) But I was admittedly behind in my regular dental check-up schedule. (Like, it might or might not be true that I was approximately two years behind.) Mostly because I do not have dental insurance. And going to the dentist is expensive. Really, really expensive.

Say Hello to Brighter!

Brighter is a simple, free alternative to dental insurance, offering people to affordably manage their oral health by giving them access to pre-negotiated prices at hundreds of certified dentists. (Kind of like how insurance companies negotiate rates with dentists, but the person who is getting the negotiated rate is you!)

But are the dentists any good?

All Brighter dentists pass a rigorous pre-screening process that reviews their professional experience and reputation. Then you get to shop your dentist on their site. You can see how long they’ve been practicing, where they went to school and read patient reviews. They even have pictures of each dentist. I was actually tempted to pick the cutest dentist (he was pretty hot), but he was kind of far away. So instead I chose a dentist close to my office who has been practicing for 19 years and went to a really good school. (She was actually pretty cute too!)

I chose a package that included a check-up, cleaning and x-rays.

Booking my appointment couldn’t have been easier. You just click the available time and date that you want, fill out a little information and BOOM – you are booked.

You then receive an email stating that your appointment is pending and that you will be receiving an email confirmation shortly. My email confirmation came the next morning during business hours. I then received a reminder email one business day before my appointment and a reminder email the morning of my appointment, so I was very confident that when I showed up at the dentist they would be expecting me. (They were.)

Brighter smile — Booking with Brighter made me feel like this.

The dentist I chose was fantastic – she spent a lot of time with me and was extremely thorough. Her office was very clean and modern and her assistant was friendly and helpful. It was about as good as going to the dentist gets. (She even told me red wine was essential to a happy life after a certain age. Now that’s my kind of dentist!)

Brighter is only in Los Angeles County, but they will be doing a national roll-out soon.

I’m doing my very first give-a-way!

What about you? Have you been to the dentist lately? How would you like to win a $199 credit from Brighter?

Don’t need to go to the dentist? Well, perhaps you’re like me – living a happy life filled with red wine and coffee and have been thinking how nice it would be to have a teeth whitening treatment.

You can use the $199 credit for that too!

All you have to do is click on this link: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Remember, Brighter is only in Los Angeles County, so please only enter if you live in the LA area. (Or are willing to travel there to see the dentist!)

*Brighter.com picked up the tab on my trip to the dentist, however all opinions (including red wine + coffee = happy life) are my own.

On Reaching Goals

October 1, 2013October 1, 2013 charleneaross4 Comments

On September 1st I publicly proclaimed that intended to write and post one paragraph a day on this blog. Turns out I failed. I wrote (and posted) the first 10 days in a row. (Yay!) But then… it just sort of tapered off. Writing every day is one thing. (I didn’t even do that.) Writing something worthy of posting is entirely another.

I could make all sorts of excuses.

Like, I had other goals for the month to attain as well. Ones that weren’t made so publicly. (Though I’m not that bright, so I’ll tell you what they were now.)

I was also going to query three agents a week. Of course it would be a lie to say that querying got in the way of posting. I only queried two. (No, not per week. Total.)

My plan was to write my blog posts in the morning and send my novel queries on my lunch break.

But I also wanted to keep going to the gym five to six times a week. The good news is, this is goal I actually achieved and I lost three more pounds since finishing my Just Lose It Weight Loss Challenge. But it turns out being fit and being a writer is hard. Hopefully I’ll figure it out so I don’t have to choose between the two. (But I’m not holding my breath.)

And I recently went back to work full time (again). I’m still trying to re-figure out how to get my ass to work on time every morning. Typical morning: I get up at 5:00 and write (or procrastinate and check Facebook, Twitter and emails while convincing myself that it’s “working”) or go to the gym, make Chandler a peanut butter and banana sandwich (he’ll make it himself without complaint, but likes me to do it and he’s off to college in less than two years so my peanut butter and banana sandwich days will be over for good so I really don’t mind), walk the dog, get Marley up, make her eggs for breakfast (she refuses to eat lunch at school, so she needs a big protein-filled breakfast), make eggs for myself (I like mushrooms or spinach in mine and eat three eggs, but only two egg yolks – shut up), shower and get ready for work, change my clothes three times even though I pick out my outfits for the week on Sunday (nine out of ten times I go with the original outfit chosen), pack my lunch (even though I try to do this the night before I never seem to remember everything) and get out the door by 8:40. (I’ve only actually left at 8:40 once. It’s usually 8:45. At best.)

lay-out-clothes-the-night-before-work — You’d think putting together outfits like this would help me get ready faster in the morning. You’d be wrong.

Balance was another one of my goals for October. But you’re smarter than me. You can see that that was an unattainable goal can’t you?

So I’m going to be smarter too in October. This month my only goal is to post to my blog each Monday.

Um….

And to maybe query an agent or two. (Per week.)

And not flake on going to the gym.

And to stick to the first outfit I choose. (This one might be the hardest one of all.)

I’ll let you know how it goes.

There are only three months left in 2013. Do you have any October goals?

Charlene Ross

Month: October 2013