Mini-Trip to Columbus & LA Living

I had such a fabulous trip home to Columbus. The perfect end to my vacation. I got in on Thursday night, and Neetie picked me up from the airport. We went to my dad's where I got to see Odin for the first time in over 3 months! He was so excited - it was something I will always remember. Tina had also made a birthday surprise for me with a balloon, little pastries that I love, and a dish with 30 candies (which my mom and I promptly dug into). So thoughtful! The other highlight was that Odin could now be a show dog. My dad taught him to jump through a hoop. Seeing Dad's excitement and Odin performing the trick were priceless.

Mom and I spent the next day relaxing and the afternoon in Half Price Books. I love that store! She introduced me to the Clearance Section with a bunch of books piled up for $1 or $2. Excellent browsing and so very nice to be together.

And that night was my 30th birthday party! It was at Mom and Bill's house with Dad, Tina and Marissa. We had pink balloons, a champagne toast, chocolate covered strawberries (a gift from Erin!), my favorite mini-bread appetizers, fabulous Italian food, chocolate cake and gifts. To top it off, at the end of the evening, we all went outside and sat around the fire pit in the backyard. (This is one of my favorite activities at Dad and Tina's). I really could not have had a better time or enjoyed myself more. Really.

Then Marissa and I left and went to the Short North for a drink. It ended up being just us, and we did a mini-champagne wine tasting and just talked into the night. What a birthday celebration!!

The next day, Dad and I went to Waffle House. Oh, so good. Does this trip sound like it included a lot of eating? It was. But I loved every minute of it. Even more, I loved every minute of the family (and friend) time. It felt so good to be home. Odin and I left that afternoon. I bought a life-saving device, a sling, on the internet to travel with Odin. He absolutely hates to be inside a bag or carrier. So after lengthy searching, I found a sling online where his legs and head can dangle and I have straps over my shoulder. I'm sure it's a sight...but probably one of the best purchases of the year.

Lately I have been considering the option of moving back to Cbus. (Well, ideally, it would be traveling the world and/or living in Paris first and then moving to Cbus.) This is the craziest thought because I have never ever thought that I could live in Columbus or Ohio for that matter. Really, I have always thought I wanted to live in a big city. I don't know exactly what it is or why I've been thinking this, but it is on my mind. I'll keep you updated.

So, for now, I'm back in LA and back to work. The best part of being back to life is that our required year has passed and we are ready to move out of Echo Park!! If you don't already know, this year has been extremely trying to say the least. Echo Park is an up and coming neighborhood, which means that it is still gritty and dirty with some parts that are nice and some parts that aren't. We have dealt with everything from barking dogs - so many barking dogs, to living next door to our tenants (not advisable), to living in an apartment with no sunlight, to snarling dogs behind fences that scare Odin and us while we walk, to living far away from all of our friends, to moving away from a fab apartment and a walkable neighborhood, to...well, you get the point. We haven't been the happiest.

So our year is up, and we're ready to go!

We are having open houses and doing everything possible to rent out our unit so that we can move to a new place in November. Our options are Venice (on the beach) or Miracle Mile (where we were living before). So keep your fingers crossed that we find the perfect renters.

Another big change that has come about is that Matt and I are into super-saving. We have been living it up in LA for the past 4 years - mostly doing what we want to do, and now we both feel like we want to save - For Paris? To buy another apt.? Only time will tell. But we are moving forward with the plan. It's a new way of life for us - an experience that I plan to share the ups and downs of right here on my blog.

I hope that you have a great weekend.

Jessica O.