Once again...PLEASE STOP BY MY NEW BLOG!

I love Moon River and Me. I cannot wait to take it over again in 3-4 years when I no longer live in the UK :)

But for now, I have fully moved to my blog From California to Cambridge

PLEASE follow it, bookmark it, or even tell your friends about it because in just a few days a very special giveaway is gong to be posted...and you won't want to miss it!

In loving memory...

Andrew J. Gawley Sr. is the world's greatest grandfather; he was witty, smart, loving, and above all deeply sweet.

He passed at 8:07PM 4 years ago today.

He left behind a loving family, great friends and even two little cats who were spoiled rotton...

As I posted on my current blog, I love you Pa....

The 3-4 Hiatus....

I am officially startng my 3-4 hiatus from Moonriver and Me :)

I am excited, and emotional...but know I cannot continue to go back and forth between this blog, and From California to Cambridge...and frankly...my life is slowly being consummed with the transition to my new life in England...

SO PLEASE JOIN ME AND MOVE ON OVER ;)

Prayers Needed...

Today I discovered sometime recently I lost my grandmother's Golden Gate Bridge charm...she had it nearly her entire life...and I lost it.

There are NO WORDS for the pain in my heart right now...no words...

Calling.....the new homeowner...

My amazing friend Jenna and her partner Faith purchased an adorable townhome which is a work-in-progress. They have been tirelessly remodeling (not by choice) and today I stopped by to check on the progress...aside from the work still needed (like a kitchen, and a bathroom walls) the home has GREAT character...some of these neat features include:





Pink doors with mail slots, cute windows, and my favorite: ROTARY PHONE!

After we endured the day filled with electrical, insurance people, and the killing of MASSIVE roaches (their home is still unknown) we ate at an amazing Mexican food restaurant (which is neat, seeing as I usually dislike Mexican food!); our server was crazy friendly and even took a picture for us!!!!




You may wonder why I was off work today...well, I was required to stay home by my doctor; on Saturday (my 25th B-Day) I got a concussion...at Disneyland...I HIT MY HEAD ON A CHAIR---LONG, LONG, STORY!

Two and Five...Happy to be ALIVE!

Today is my 25th! I celebrated yesterday evening at the Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel at their wine room, and then today at Disneyland...concluding with a nice cake, a cool bath and In-N-Out burger. It was near perfect. Of course, not all loved ones were around...

I am very thankful however to be alive, have great people surrounding me, and thankful for all of the opportunities I enjoy...

Some of the highlights (in addition to the fantastic wine, cheeses and meats as well as chocolates) included beautiful flowers (hydrangeas from one of my best friends in the world---who knows they are my favorite flowers; and a HUGE bouquet of the best smelling flowers from the lovely Jill who made waking up on my birthday magical)...I got books on my hero John Wooden, diamonds from Tiffany, that Adamo from Dell laptop I hinted to below, a cute pill holder that I will carry around for life...a scented Henri Bendel lavender candle to smell up stuffy old England ;) and a ton of other very, very thoughtful gifts to help make 25 the best (and stress-free) year of my life...nothing like opening cute cards and tearing through packages...

I promise to post more pics, but here are a few ;) of the best...

And to those who were there...I love you, and miss you...and while it is true that sometimes it is the boring, simple days that I often remember most (as Russell from the Disney movie UP! stated "Sometimes, it's the boring stuff I remember the most") this birthday and all surrounding it will also be remembered ;)

And the Fall Line is in...

THANK HEAVENS FOR J.CREW!

I have been waiting to use my 20% off for my J.Crew card and found the most perfect and versatile items for my move to England (and yet they still work in California!)

J.Crew came back with the wool/cashmere Dream V-Necks in a slimmer fit (YIPPY!) and AMAZING new colors (pics attached of pale hazelnut and heather agate) as well as keeping that classic English Gingham print perfect for layering!

Anyone else super excited? I also LOVE the new pearl knotted necklace for the staggering $78 (hoping that will go on sale)....

Age...

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter. ~Mark Twain

I cannot help but continue to spiral into a pseudo-depression over turning 25. There isn't ANYTHING wrong with it, but suddenly I realize I no longer look like a teenager, I am in my mid-twenties, and life is not exactly where I thought it would be...but then again, is it really ever?

If Mark Twain is right, perhaps I simply need to not mind it; or as others have suggested, embrace it!

Happy Birthday Jill

This evening we celebrated our friend Jill's 30th birthday...she is adorable, and totally handling the transition well. I started to worry about my own upcoming birthday...turning 25 is really scaring me...hopefully I can have Jill's attitude.

My First Birthday Present

I got my first 25th birthday present...courtesy of the clever Anthropologie gimmick by giving me an adorable candle necklace and 15% off...gotta love that ;)

Never without a name...

It was at first hard to decide whether or not to post about this, but but I felt is too special to keep a secret. Something magical occurred over the past weekend that lightened my heavy heart. For the first time, I visited my Great Grandmother Helen, whom I am named after. You may ask why I never went before...and I don't have a good excuse. What is worse? Over 30 years after being buried, her name had still never been put on the grave...the grave she paid for, month by month on her maid's salary, so her family could be buried together. How do I know this? The lady in charge of the cemetery (whom had to be over 100 years old) kept records and remembers her...

It took all of us over 2 hours of searching, but we found them...and I paid respects with white roses (my favorite) and lavender (my other favorite). More importantly, she soon will not be without a name on her tombstone...I have started the work needed to have it added, and it will be done before I leave for England...not like she was ever without one to us...

For Helen Lebee Jenkins, may you know your always remembered, even if it took your great-granddaughter 25 years to find you...

It is official...

I resigned from my job yesterday, giving 4-weeks notice. It was very hard to do...and my only hope is that years from now I look back and was proud of my decision to leave, and more importantly, proud of what I did accomplish in my almost year and a half at the job...

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”-Pericles

I hope I in some way touched the lives of my co-workers and students...

Help! Help!

If anyone knows where to find this t-shirt, PLEASE let me know. It is sold out online and seriously my favorite! It was a medium in Ivory. It is now soiled with paint :(

Im super sad...

It is style #23743

And the 25th Birthday location is...

The Eno Wine Room at the Ritz Carlton. After careful consideration, my parents are hosting a small party at the Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel to celebrate my 25th Birthday. The closer I get to the day, I am realizing that it probably isn't as big of a deal as I thought...but the truth is, I am not where I thought I would be at 25. When I really think about it, I am lucky to be alive. And that is something I should not take for granted.

As most of you know, I often blog about being ill, or not feeling well. I was born with a very severe congenital heart defect. Having a surgery of my kind in the early 80s was still very ground-breaking. I should not have made it past 10 or 11 (I think that was the age given...). Thanks to the world renown cardiac-thoracic surgeon at UCSF (contracted by my insurance carrier Kaiser) as well as the countless teams of nurses, fellow patients, staff and above all my family, I made it.

I often say, the most comfortable place in the world for me, is at a hospital. I am not lying. Having spent so much time at them of the course of my life...as well as having a grandmother who was a RN, and myself volunteering at the same hospital I was not only born in, but she worked at, it is true.

So while my 25th is being celebrated hundreds of miles away, in a sunny 5-star wine room, I would easily be as happy simply taking a stroll through the hospital and being very, very thankful...

Just got back from France...

Well, the closest you can get to France while living in Laguna Beach, CA!

I dragged Mike to French 75 for a cocktail and appetizers after a horrific and stressful day (the kind where nothing works out...and there is not enough Tylenol to get a rid of your migraine).

He bought me a fantastic drink (my all-time favorite) Chanel. The pic below shows the AMAZING ingredients.

We had French sliders, a fanciful cheese and bread platter (the honeycomb was to die for), and then ended with a New York Cheesecake covered in chocolate...

His drink of choice: Scotch and Soda...very Frank Sinatra...

Happy Belated the 4th!

Happy Belated 4th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are a few pictures from our family BBQ (done by my parents) and the few illegal fireworks we did! One I purchased my Dad insisted was "not going to be big" so we started it on the grass patio we have...only to discover my $3 firework was massive---my brother and Mike ran to the side of the house, my mom and I fought to open the door, Lulu wet herself, and my Dad (sitting closest) fell out of his chair...

The evening ended with all of watching fireworks from over 5 cities from our home which is on a fairly high hill...

Tears abound...

For some reason, this week has been particularly painful for me. I feel horrid complaining when I know hundreds of thousands are much less fortunate than I...but sometimes, there is nothing I can do. I get sad. Easily.

But recently I have found myself at work staring aimlessly, or looking at stars and cry. Tears are abound...and it just so happens Tiffany had just the right necklace for my feelings...

Elsa Peretti created the Teardrop pendant and I received it as a gift. It is hard to take off, especially at times like these...plus, it is rather cute, no? ;)

Plus, to add to my already lonely and sad mood, my laptop died and all my work and photos were lost...

Exhausted...

This week has been the most difficult in the past few months...and I cannot kick the blues, and am finding myself turning to diet coke, cookies and Ben & Jerry's mini tubs of ice cream...I can already feel my jeans a bit tighter...and that just adds to the frustration.

I just got back from work, and took a quick shower, and finally de-stressing in bed...but I have a million things to do...including:

1) Cleaning out my over-stuffed closet by selling on Ebay...
2) Organizing my purses (too many, all messy and dirty)...
3) Send a few thank you notes...
4) Sleep ;)

The First Necessesities Birthday List

Well, I guess they are not all necessities, and my party will be small, but the following all make my wish list:

1) A Tiffany Key Chain to replace the one drastically stolen...the best part of this particular one? It can be monogrammed...yes.

2) Another Tiffany item (hey, my blog addy is the location of Tiffany!), but maybe even more useful: A Tiffany pill box. Anyone that knows me...well...knows...

3) J. Crew and Essie made the cutest nail polish in the world: Jazz

4) J. Crew and The Laundres came up with wash for cashmere, denim, ect...I need all of them :)

5) Tiffany's Notes "D" charm...I bought one for my best friend in sterling, but personally am lusting after the gold one to add to my charm bracelet; hey, it needs to be more personalized (isn't that a necessity?)...

6) Culture Wise England...a book on how to survive there...PLEASE....NEED I SAY MORE!

7) Finally, I know I will be getting one before I go to Cambridge...but here is my current lust of a computer: Adamo by Dell

I bet I won't get any of these gifts, which is fine, but I thought it was fun to list things I could actually use...and need...interstingly, a computer was never on my list prior to the fact I have a massive dissertation to write ;) and prefer doing so in a beautiful library or museum in Cambridge or London...Cheerio ;) jk