Oh, California!

California was amazing and my trip ended far too soon. I felt like I was in a surreal daydream the first two hours of being there. In two days time, my boyfriend and I explored the coast in our Dodge Charger rental, dined at fun local eateries, and enjoyed the perks of city living.

The uncrowded Mission Beach was the perfect place for this unspoiled photo opportunity.

I have always felt "at home" here in San Diego. Although it has been almost three years since I packed up my apartment and moved back East, I still feel strong ties to this charming and livable Southern California city.

The Andaz Hotel provided chic accomodations in the heart of downtown.

Quaint new shops popped up everywhere, such as this darling candy store on 5th Avenue which had only been open for 3 months.

Breathtaking ocean views could be seen from the highway near the Torrey Pines State Reserve. Local residents embraced the lifestyle by enjoying the walking and biking trails within the park.

I have so many more trip highlights to share. The nightlife, how my boy and I celebrated our 8-year anniversary, and of course, VEGAS!

Give Me the Bright Lights, Long Nights

I feel like a jetsetter! I am flying out of Boston tonight, Vegas bound! My pink leopard print Betsey suitcase is packed and ready to go, crammed with business suits and classy outfits for my 4 night business trip.

From there, I'm headed west to California ♥ to a beautiful city I used to call my home... (San Diego). My boyfriend is meeting me out there and we'll spend a couple of days having fun in downtown and celebrating our anniversary.

I won't be around to blog next week, but many exciting posts will await upon my return. Have a great week everyone!

Let's Have Some Fun

"I'm playful...I simply want to live the way I need to live."

- Angelina Jolie

Almost everyone has a playful, goofy, and fun-loving side to their personality. Here are some of the things that express that side of who I am:

I put my co-workers faces into Jib Jab videos. My boss has seen himself break-dancing, galloping through a forest on a unicorn, and doing the 'Monster Mash' and yes, I still have my job!

Playing classic board games. It never gets old.

My sister and I have silly matching nicknames for each other.

Singing at the top of my lungs to songs on my mix CDs.

Laughing until my stomach hurts in the company of good friends.

There is something about being out on the water that expresses my playful spirit.

Cupcakes. They remind me of when I was in grade school and we'd celebrate every kid's birthday by eating one of these perfectly frosted treats.

Jumping as high as I can.

Playing frisbee on the beach.

Painting my nails colorful, bright colors.

Tickling my boyfriend until he finally laughs.

Sharing an enormously huge margarita with friends.

How do you express your playful side?

{puddle jumping photo credit}

The Lure and Glitz of Vegas

The parties, the shows, the lights, the entertainment, the casinos. Vegas has it all! I wanted to share some Vegas highlights from some of my past visits. I have always had a little bit of the "party girl" in me, and the strip is just the place to partake in some debauchery.

Whether I'm there for work or for play, I am so enamored by the energy in this place. From the second you step foot in the airport, you're already hearing the melodies of slot machines.

I have stayed at Caesar's Palace, Treasure Island, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, the Rio, and my favorite of all, the Palazzo. My boyfriend and I got upgraded to the Fortuna suite for free - this suite was bigger than our apartment at the time. I recommend this hotel highly. The service was impeccable.

{View from a suite at Treasure Island}

{My boyfriend enjoying a Cable Car martini at FiAMMA Trattoria at MGM Grand. This place had a cozy, romantic atmosphere and great food.}

{Me, pole dancing, at XS Nightclub inside the Encore Hotel.}

XS is my favorite nightclub EVER, hands down. It is beautiful, classy, and upscale, and has huge indoor and outdoor spaces, so it never feels crowded. See a video I took of the dancefloor at XS on my YouTube channel.

{Peepshow was phenomenal and I am a big fan of Holly Madison.}

{Statues outside of Caesars Palace}

{A yummy cranberry vodka at the Wynn}

Planning a trip soon? Here are some of my favorites:

Show: Anything by Cirque du Soleil. Amazing! I saw Mystere twice.

Frozen Drinks: Kahunaville at Treasure Island. Best raspberry margarita I have ever had in my life. They often throw in a free test tube shot of tequila.

Pool Scene: MGM Grand. Big, long, lazy river. Fun to float around in!

Brunch Buffet: Le Village Buffet at the Paris Hotel. They are also famous for their crepes.

Dinner: N9NE Steakhouse at The Palms. Trendy, open atmosphere with incredible food and drinks.

Restaurant with a View: The VooDoo Steakhouse at the Rio. The view is panoramic and breathtaking.

Martini: the White Chocolate at Olives in the Bellagio Hotel

Slot Machine: the Playboy bunny machines at the MGM Grand. (I say this because I won $30 and it's the most I've won from a machine!)

Fun Touristy Activity: Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum at the Venetian

Free Activity: the Bellagio Fountain show

Shops: The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace

If you're going primarily to party, a 2-night visit is enough, but if you want to take your time and see everything, a 4 or 5 night stay is sufficient. Vegas burns you out really fast. Usually by the 3rd night there, I pass out at 9pm and then wake up, regretful that I went to bed so early!

Hearts and Appletinis: My Valentine's Day

My boyfriend and I celebrated Valentine's Day last night by going to a local steakhouse for drinks and dinner. I love Valentine's Day. Despite some cheesy and contrived aspects of the holiday, I enjoy acknowledging it each year.

The steakhouse had the charming appearance of a typical New England home, and felt that way on the inside.

We got seated in a cozy corner spot on the second floor of the restaurant. I started off by ordering the Spiced Appletini. This drink was incredible! It was rimmed with cinnamon sugar, and made with Stoli Vanil, apple puckers, and an apple spice mixture.

I had my boyfriend take a sip of it, and he said "This tastes like fall." I burst out laughing, but it was true! The cinnamon, spices, and apple taste definitely gave that effect. I had woodfired grilled chicken for dinner and he had the prime rib. It was delicious and romantic!

After dinner we went to a cute Mexican cantina for drinks.

When we got back to the car, he surprised me with a card and a gift.

We got each other cards with similar messages on them. Mine had 2 sugar cookies with frosting on them. One said ME 4 U and the other said U 4 ME.

Then... I noticed a navy blue Swarvoski bag! I opened it... and got the most beautiful open heart necklace!

I love that he picked it out most of all. It's a fantastic statement piece and will go with everything!

To honor the holiday, I wore a red cotton dress with twisted straps.

and paired it with Betsey Johnson tights and BCBG buckle heels.

Hope you are all having great V-Day weekends so far! Today/tonight I am going to TWO birthday parties and having some fun with friends in the city. I can't wait!

The Ugly Dress Party

Last April, one of my friends suggested we have an "Ugly Dress" bar crawl. We had so much fun putting our hideous outfits together and the result was an outrageously interesting night consisting of a lot of drinks and a lot of stares.

Here are some tips so you can put together your own Ugly Dress Party!

How to find the ugliest dress imaginable:

• Check the clearance racks of popular brand name stores. We got our dresses from H&M, Forever 21, and Urban Outfitters - stores that usually have cute stuff!
• Check your local Goodwill or Salvation Army. You're guaranteed to find something here, and for a low price at that.
• Keep your eyes out for dresses in weird patterns and color combinations that clearly don't go together.

How to accessorize your outfit:

• Make your outfit pop with a pair of tights. I love the brand Hue, and they make their tights in a huge range of colors, including lime green, hot pink, and baby blue. {click to shop!}
• Adding a horrific beaded necklace to my leopard print ensemble helped my outfit go from sexy to costume-y.

The bar crawl was so funny and memorable to look back on. My friends and I love to create themed parties or get-togethers just for the sake of it.

SHOP FOR UGLY DRESSES ONLINE {click here}

The Charm of Boston in February

One of the joys of living in New England is battling the harsh winters every year. When I ventured off to Boston this afternoon to pay my little sister a visit, I was greeted with 20 degree weather but a whole lot of big city charm. The city, while normally bustling, busy, and crammed with people, was unusually quiet today.

One of my favorite neighborhoods in Boston is the North End. This is an enclave dotted with adorable Italian eateries, cafes, and bakeries.

We decided to stop in to Mike's Pastry. a place that's FAMOUS for their yummy treats, and especially their canollis.

I went home with a white chocolate nonpareil, and a huge chocolate chip M&M cookie. I rarely eat dessert-type food, so it was a nice little treat!

We had lunch at The Sail Loft. My Dad introduced me to this place many years ago. This narrowly-shaped restaurant juts out over the harbor, and every table offers a pretty view of all the boats. It is incredibly casual and a great spot to get a sandwich or a cup of clam chowder.

I had a cajun chicken sandwich and enjoyed catching up with my sis. It's fun listening to her college stories. While at lunch, I gifted her with this House of Harlow ring. She LOVES it!

The cold weather made our visit a short one, but it was a fun way to spend an afternoon!

Now, I am off to hang out with a couple of my girls for margaritas, dinner, and good conversation! ♥

Est. Since 1986

Growing up Kinsey...

FACT #1 If I was a boy, my parents were going to name me Benjamin.

FACT #2 I intentionally rode this tricycle down the basement stairs. I only suffered a minor concussion.

FACT #3 I had the Baby Alive doll. It was the most popular doll on the market, and its appeal was that you could feed it packets of powdered 'food'. Once I ran out of the packets, I started giving it REAL food. This didn't go over so well when the doll began smelling like spoiled milk!

FACT #4 I was the QUEEN of committing fashion "Don'ts". Wearing socks up to my calves, those horrible stirrup leggings (which I wore as pants), matching sweatsuits with cats and other weird stuff on them, etc. I never had cute clothes growing up.

FACT #5 I was always a bookworm. I loved the Berenstein Bear series, Clifford series, and the Arthur books. I'd read to my little sisters, and read with my Mom almost every night :)

FACT #6 The biggest birthday party I have ever had to date was my 5th. My parents invited over 50 people for a barbecque and ordered a custom 'Barbie' cake for me!

FACT #7 I was a mosquito once, for Halloween. When I was 3, I was Superman, and when I was 4, I was Batman. I was on a superhero kick I guess!

Hope you enjoyed this little walk down memory lane with me! I am looking forward to the weekend!