Category: Friends

From Hollywood to "Italy" this past weekend

Posted on by vballphil in Family, Friends, Fun, Italian Meal, West Hollywood


So, most people who know me know that it takes a lot these days to get me to go out on a Thursday night. Let alone to a party in West Hollywood. But I decided to be BRAVE (hahaha) and venture out. We ended up going to a party that my friend helped organize for a “cover” girl at Les Deux. The trio (Silke, Cheri, and me) hit the town again! And, for the most part, it rocked! There were a ton of B list actors there, with the occasional A- actor (Jonathan Silverman) wrapped into this outdoor/indoor club. But ya know, as long as I am with those two chicas…I am cool! :)!








Friday was a blur (which, for the most part I did not feel well) to me. Saturday rolled along and it was all about the Italian meal my step mom was preparing for Cheri’s belated Grad & b’day party. Woohoo! Yummy meatballs & gnocchi’s (one of my all time fave meals). Cheri’s HS friends, along with some other friends and our mommacita, joined in the festivities…and of course my sisters, Lori & Kara were there :)! Good food and good company!

And a couple side notes….my car hit 100,000 miles yesterday on the 405 North at El Camino….CRAZY! AND Kristen, my high school best friend, sent me a pic from our HS prom. Or should I say STRAIGHT CLASSIC (my new fave saying)!

Cheri’s Bday in Napa

Posted on by vballphil in Cheri's Birthday, Friends, Fun, Napa

The trip to Napa was fun, but nothing like our day in the infamous Napa Valley! The day, to start of with, was as absolutely gorgeous. We decided to venture northward and had a mini plan in place. First stop, the Robert Mondavi Winery. Even though this was not a “destination” for us, it turned out to be Alezandra’s husbands’ fave wine. Here are the photos from that stop.







The next stop was the Peju Winery. This winery was more of a French atmosphere (while Mondavi was a Spanish atmosphere). It was really charming. Once inside I was in heaven…MUSTARDS! Hahahaha! I love mustard and they sold their mustards. I ended up with the sweet garlic and red pepper mustards. Who needed wine? I just completely content with my mustard! :)! Here are photos from that stop.









Next on the list was lunch at the V.Sattui Winery. You could tell that this was a very popular place for food and wine. They had a deli inside that was absolutely fabulous. But, due to the fact it was absolutely crazy in there and they weren’t making sandwiches that day we ventured across the street to Dean and Deluca. You can not go wrong in that store. Another fun fact about me is that I LOVE cheese and the cheeses available in both deli’s were absolutely amazing! Parmiano Reggiano chunks were around $140; PER CHUNK mind you. But YUMMO (as Rachel Ray would say).






After lunch we head up to the Schramsberg Winery. As we drove up north to this winery we passed one of the infamous Napa signs. You know we had to take a pic in front of it! The funnest part was running across HWY 29. And Cheri HAD to take photos of this…hilarious. After that we headed into the hills on the one lane/two way road to Schramsberg. This winery was breath-taking. The sad thing is we only got a chance to walk around. The last tour left right before we arrived…plus it is a reservation tour, which is good to know for the next time. I am so game to go through their cave system, etc! Here are some pics from this part of our journey.





After that we headed toward the Silverado Winery, but got sidetracked and ended up at the Mumm Winery. It was a great winery to end our day with too. The sunset over the hill in front of us during the champagne tasting and it was amazing.












Last but not least, we ended up eating at a restaurant named Hurley’s in Yountville. This town was so cute! I would definitely stay there next time! The service wasn’t great here, but my dish was awesome! Butternut squash with prosciutto & mandego cheese. So good! Hahaha!


And here are some more random photos from the weekend….enjoy!!!












C-Town style

Posted on by vballphil in Friends

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Well, as much as I like to stay home and veg this days…I am glad that I went with Cheri and Silke to the Anniversary party at the Grand Star in Chinatown (Downtown LA). Talk about a “Real” party! It had an amzing vibe. With the 3 floors (upstairs had hiphop, downstairs had a jazz/techno, & the street party with a mix of house & hiphop…and tons of street dancing), you could never really get bored. And then the people watching…I mean the “real” people watching that makes our great area so awesome. And let’s not mention Jessie Bradford (Bring it on, Swimfan) was there (and had an interesting interaction with my model looking sister). It just plain rocked!




From Manhattan Beach to Dana Point

Posted on by vballphil in AVP, Friends

So this weekend was the Grand daddy of all beach volleyball tournaments…the Manhattan Beach Open. For those who have not been to MB…it is a cute,upscale beach community that is the home of beach volleyball. Everyone likes to win titles…but EVERYONE wants to win the MB open title. If you win, your team is placed on a plaque on the pier. And of course celebrities come out too. From Adrian Bellini (Passions) to Rachel Hunter (model) there were some hot people out on the sand! Others who came out included Laird Hamilton (World Famous Surfer), Galen Gerring (Passions), Kristina Loken (T3), Ali Landry (Ms. USA/Doritos Girl), Antonio Sabato Jr (Calvin Klein model/TV star), and Jim Caviziel
(Passion of the Christ, Count of Monte Christo), who I did not even realize I handed VIP bands to (since I focused on another customer). Nice huh! Hahaha! The tourney was awesome…great weather, great vball…who can ask for more!

My good friend Cristy also got married on Sat in South County. Her and her new hubby are the Santa Margarita high school volleyball coaches. The reception was at the Dana Point Yacht club, which was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL!! And of course Chapman looked beautiful!
Her dress was the prettiest dress I have ever seen too!

A bridal shower, bday bash, & dinner at Vejas…oh my!

Posted on by vballphil in Family, Friends

So this weekend to most people was the “volleyball holiday” in Manhattan Beach, known as the infamous 6-man. And I decided to stay far away from the beach…and instead of the crazyness up there I started my weekend by going to my friend Cristy’s bridal shower at the Maribella Country Club in South County. And can we say posh? Hahaha! It was really nice. Anyways, it was awesome to see my dear friend (who I rarely get to see) before her wedding next weekend. At the shower were her close friends and co coaches…which was cool since I dont get to see any of them all to much! Anyways, it was a great start to a relaxing weekend!

After that I headed back to LB to meet my sis, Jamie, and Silke for Silke’s bday bash at gaslamp…it was cool. And then yesterday we (my dad, Cheri, Kara,
and me) headed down to San Diego, to Viejas Casino to meet our aunt Chloe for dinner. And let’s just say the ride down there was HILARIOUS…and then the VIP bathroom…the pictures tell some of the story…good times with mi hermanas!!

Reno and Beyond

Posted on by vballphil in AVP, Friends, volleyball

Wow…so one trip down and three to go! Woohoo! So last weekend was spent in Reno with 6 AVP players and one of my interns. Good times! I had half of the PBJ crew the first day…and night…can we say CRAZY! These boys are major up and comer’s on the tour…and are VERY EASY on the eyes…hahaha…but too young so no thougts anyone! We did have fun…the “Talent” (the boys) , the “boss lady” (me), and the “intern”!

The next day I had Suzanne & Michelle come up. They actually played college ball at UN-Reno so it was not a bad thing for them.

And finally I had two of my friends, and great players, come up…Brittany Hochevar and Angela Lewis. It was cool hanging with them for the day that they spent up there.

On the last day I got to hang with my fave Cristy…CHAPPY! I never get to see her or the Laguna crew…so good times were definitely had on Tuesday night!!!

Flying out of Reno is always fun…let me tell you! But this time was absolutely AMAZING! I am a huge TAHOE person…ask anyone who knows me about my wedding plans..hahaha…the view from my window was breathtaking. Then flying into Newark was amazing too. I had the whole island of Manhattan in my window. So beautiful!

So now I am in Seaside Heights, NJ (where they did the MTV beach house a couple years back). It is really cool out there. Or at least it is cool for a few days! Woohoo! My sis, my cuz, her boyfriend, and potentially my bf from HS and her hubbie are coming!! YEA!

Next week…Hotalanta!!

A Long but Amazing week!!!

Posted on by vballphil in AVP, Friends, Fun

So my bad for not writing in a while! From Tempe to Chateau to this past weekend to tonights message…talk about a good week! First, let me say that Tempe was a ton of fun…even having very little sleep and it being EXTREMELY hot out there! I met some amazing people and watched my friends play some amazing vball…After the weekend I got to experience the “A-List” resturant in Hollywood…Chateau Marmont.

Jamie’s friend (and bandmate) Carrie, who works there, got us reservations on Monday night. It was a great bonding experience with some amazing Christian women. From my closest friends to a new friend and half of the “sister sister” duo…it so totally rocked! Here are some photos from this evening…





This week just flew bye leading into a weekend off for me. YEA! It started with my Friday evening hanging with an old friend and going to see some even older friends (like HS friends who I had not seen in a LONG time). Sat started off with some of my good girlfriends at breakfast in Downtown LB at the Omlette Inn. I have not been able to see these wonderful women in a while and it was awesome just to see them!! In the afternoon I went over to Seth’s new apartment to our Gathering BBQ. Then it was off to Diana’s 30th bday party…80’s style!!!

I dragged Amy along with me…talk about fun!

And I actually karoke’d! Yep!

I love to sing in my car (and those who truely know me…know this) but put a mike in front of me and I totally clam up! Amy and me sang “Take on Me” by A Ha. It was cool!

Then we move to the day at hand…Sunday, May 14th, Mother’s Day. I have been blessed with an amazing mother, an irreplacable stepmom, and the best grandma ever! :)!

Which leads into the sermon from Resonate tonight..I need to get by my fears of being hurt by people. I need to believe that I am worth someone’s friendship and companionship…All in god’s time!