There was something strange in the neighborhood!

There was something strange in the neighborhood....look what I saw unexpectedly in Fullerton yesterday....Ghostbusters!!!   Too fun!  I met Becky and her bestie Kelsey in Fullerton for makeovers (I was late...booo!  but the girls got them).  Becky and Kelsey had plans afterwards to watch an outdoor movie projected on the side of the building of the old Fox Theater.  So we went over there and they set their lawn chairs up before we ate at the italian restaurant next door, Angelo's and Vinci's Ristorante.

Partners in crime!

 I  love a place with a lot of fun atmosphere and Angelo's and Vinci's Ristorante definitely has it.  It is absolutely adorably over the top tacky wonderful!  Stuff stuff everywhere stuff!  It's fun to just sit there and look around at the crazy mixture of  stuff everywhere mixed with strings of lights.  We had pasta and enjoyed it and the delicious bread very much.  They make pizza there too and I hear that it is really good.

The three of us shared a pitcher of Sangria.  I still smile and giggle when I see Becky and Kelsey ordering drinks.  They are both 21 this year, but they have been best friends since they were in 1st grade and they are too cute together!  It's still hard to think of them all grown up and makes me laugh whenever I see them holding a wine glass!  

Jaina's 4th Birthday!

On October 10th I got to play hostess for my great niece Jaina's 4th birthday party. I think this picture speaks for itself, she was so happy and excited to spend the day celebrating and to have her little friends there!  

It has been a while since we have been around so many little ones...too cute!  We set up a mini  Pumpkin Carnival in the backyard with some fun little games to play and prizes.  

  

It was an old fashioned halloween fall party birthday theme at Melody's request.  Jaina wore a baby jaguar costume!  Her baby brother Gavin did not appreciate the quick mustache disguise that his Auntie Becky stuck on him....but Becky did!

Playing with Jaina and her new toys provided hours of entertainment for the adults too.  Especially this pop up playhouse and tunnel that her Grandma Pam got her!

Lots of sugary fun for all!

Changes In Attitude Changes in Latitude!

Yay!  Jimmy Buffet came to town on thursday and we saw him at Verizon Amphitheater.  I have been a fan since I was in college and went to a few concerts.  It was great because we had purchased four tickets when they went on sale back in June.  My sister Amy Jo happened to be in town from Culebra Puerto Rico and she and her best friend since childhood, Audrey, are huge parrot heads!   We were able to have them come with us which was a lot of fun.  Amy Jo lives in the exact kind of spot that Jimmy Buffet sings about, a beautiful tropical isle, and Audrey is moving there too in a few days which is so great for them!  Amy actually has a cool story of meeting Jimmy Buffet in a little bar on Culebra....too cool!

  It rained all day and I kept trying to envision that it would clear up and be gorgeous in time for the concert, but kind of dreading it if it didn't.  When we left the house we were having one of those heavy mists that get you soaking wet.  We brought plastic sheeting to keep us dry (no umbrellas allowed)  and thought we were going to be in for fairly miserable weather.   But on the way down the sunset was peeking through the clouds and it opened up and it was beautiful!  We could even see the full moon above us for most of the concert!  It wasn't an island paradise, but about as close as you can get in the middle of Irvine.

Roadside stop for a nice moment!

On Saturday Dale and I drove down to San Diego.  We were on the 5 freeway with the ocean right beside us just at sunset.  Dale knew of a little roadside stop where you can pull off to enjoy the view and we did so for just a few minutes, right at sunset.  What a great place we live in to just be happening by and then stop to enjoy a romantic ocean sunset and a quick little canoodle!

Wonderful Sunday

Yesterday was a  wonderful, fabulous day! My daughter Becky was in a class show for a musical imrov class that she has been taking in Hollywood.  My Husband Dale and I drove up to see it and as always it was a lot of fun.  The shows are fun, with the goal being to make you laugh.  What I enjoy the most is that I have this wonderful, creative college student daughter who actually enjoys spending a little time with us.  We get to go be entertained (and I will admit there is something especially magical about seeing a show with your child in it) and then go out for a meal with Becky and her boyfriend.  I had seen this restaurant online and we went to check it out.  It is Ivan Kane's Cafe Was.  It is styled to be a bohemian bistro bar and live music venue.  Isn't it adorable?

We came at an off time on a late Sunday afternoon.  They were serving brunch, but it was very quiet. This was basically our view looking down at the piano.  It looks like an old fashioned theater.  The food was great.  We enjoyed just being in the really cool environment.  And the fact that it was quiet was  perfect for spending time together and talking.  (We are still getting to know Becky's boyfriend and he is still sizing us up, plus he is quite an entertaining fellow so between him and Becky we didn't need to look any further than our own table for entertainment).  But it would be fun to go back sometime for the nightlife and be there when there when there are musical performances.  The Piano turns, and I guess they do a regular friday night burlesque show.

This adorable little staircase was the cause of a wee bit of embarrassment for me.  As we were leaving  we decided to go upstairs just to peak and see what was up there.  I asked the waiter and he said sure thing just go up those stairs over there.  This adorable staircase was there and I looked up and the doorway at the top kind of looked like it was a mirror.  So I announce rather giddily that it looks just like a mirror in Alice in Wonderland Through The Looking Glass and I can't wait to go thru it.  And while I am saying this and flamboyantly bounding up the stairs the same waiter says "Oh no not those stairs, that is just a mirror up there" and directed us to  the stairs around the corner.  Nice!  A faux staircase and a waiter with a mean streak who totally set me up...and I look like an airhead in front of Becky's boyfriend.  Minus one point mom!

Introduction: Backwards Forwards Blah Blah Blog

Sometime back my very creative niece, Autumn, and I decided that we would become bloggers.  We made a pact and Autumn Created this very pretty blog page for me and a she made a great blog page for herself and she began a blogging.   And a waiting.  And a nagging.  And a wondering when I would start a blogging.  And while Autumns blog has been carefully tended and nurtured and is growing into something that reflects her personality and shows off her many creative interests, my page has sat here completely blank.....since August.  Perhaps I put too much pressure on myself with the title...Cheerful Events.  The name itself creates a certain expectation, something lighthearted and fun.  Got to wait for the right event to kick that off right?  In the meantime I have had many happy cheerful great moments that I have enjoyed thoroughly, but that I never blogged about.  Last night it occurred to me while I was walking around Dana Point Harbor and enjoying the amazing view of the light reflecting off of the water, that I had had a pretty awesome day and great weekend too for that matter and if I would just do it I could write it down and get to blogging right away. And I remembered that I never seem to start any project at a logical beginning.  Every term paper I have ever written, though my teachers would emphasize starting out with a great opening paragraph and an outline of the project, I would always just start writing up something in the middle, then circle back around to the fabulous beginning later.  So here it is, the middle of the blog of a middle age woman.  Probably only Autumn will ever actually read this blog, but I know she will be happy that I put something on the blank page.  So here you go Autumn!

My evening stroll around Dana Point Harbor was beautiful and a great ending to an already fun day!