My darlings, have I properly introduced you to the Jesus Year Project by my friend, writer and explorer Jenny Sundel? Your Jesus Year, if you’re not familiar, is your 33^rd year of life — a time to discover and do whatever it is that you’ve been dying to do your whole life. And my friend Jenny decided to bid adieu to her life of interviewing A-List celebrities in LA and to instead say bonjour Paree by up and moving to Le City of Lights for her Jesus Year. You can follow along on her adventures at Jesus Year Project and I have no doubt that soon you’ll be reading the book and then watching the movie and chatting about which you preferred more (I hope to play the friend that selflessly encourages Jenny to move from LA, even though she’ll miss her dearly. Natalie Portman will do a fine job).

But until then, pop on over to read my guest post about MY Jesus Year List: My Top 10 Goals for My 33rd Year (which I just entered into last month!). This weekend, I tried accomplishing #3: Frolic in the poppy fields of Antelope Valley, but instead of looking like the photo above, it looked like this:

Oh, poppycock.

Guess the season is over! Despite the severe lack of poppies, which resulted in an endless stream of poppy jokes and alliteration (oh poppycock, the poppy population is poopy), we still had an amazing roadtrip filled with unexpected magical moments.

A little reminder that love is everywhere. You just have to look.

Which in the end, lists aside, is really what it’s all about, isn’t it?

I love ewe.

Stumbling upon Meatloaf’s charity The Painted Turtle in the middle of nowhere.

Soaring above Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA.

How do you feel about writing down goals and making lists? Is it the only way to get things done or a recipe for feeling guilty for what you don’t accomplish? Making lists: Is it a must or a miss?

p.s. Just spotted this great quote: “If we’re free to dare — and we are — if we’re free to give — and we are — then we’re free to shape the future and have within our grasp all that we dream the future will be.” — Ronald Reagan

[Second photo by Amanda Friedman via Oh Joy!; All others by BussBuss]

Amazing Life List, The Blog, Travel

Darlings! I missed you. Did you have a lovely weekend? I’m feeling rested and recharged after a tryst with my lover this weekend.

I was feeling extra foxy (a super sweet Christmas gift from my darling parents)…

So decided to go for a hike — and a spin (doesn’t everyone hike in tights and cowboy boots?)…

After twirling and chasing my own shadow (FYI, we’ll have six more weeks of winter, gosh darn!), we decided to leave “our” house in Yucca Valley, California (which you, too, can rent for one of the best weekends of your life)…

And ventured off on a drive into Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms…

Where I brought the hubby over to the vintage side when he scored a pair of jeans for $1 at a vintage store in the desert (didn’t he used to do that in high school too and then cut them up to make Daisy Dukes or was that just me?). I even crossed a few things off of my Amazing Life List this weekend. I drove…

We tried a new restaurant (and were happily surprised that you can find good Thai food in the desert)… But the biggest news is that I woke up in time to catch sunrise in the desert.

Isn’t it gorgeous? I even woke up without an alarm or the bribery of Nutella in bed (which is the most shocking part to myself and to those who know me best) — and hours before my darling hubby (I got to make him breakfast in bed for a very refreshing role reversal!). When I showed these pictures to my darling dear, I exclaimed “Look, it looks like a star!” To which he replied “Really. Imagine the sun looking like what it is, a star.” Oh right… Crazy scientific facts aside, since I was experiencing this majestic sunrise solo, I of course needed proof that it was indeed I who was snapping the photos…

And because I wasn’t about to horrify you with what I look like sans makeup at 6:30am, this will have to do…  Of course, after a day of waking at the crack of dawn, hiking and twirling, driving and shopping, cooking and eating, I was ready for a rest come nightfall.

So we meandered out to the cowboy hot tub, enveloped by illuminated rocks and twinkling stars and discussed life’s most memorable  moments as we spotted Orion’s Belt and the Big Dipper. For me, this was one of them. I’m excited to share more desert vacation photos later in the week xx!

[Photos by BussBuss]

Amazing Life List, Behind the Buss, Outfits, Travel