wan life to live: mi casa, su casa

i am a klutz. this is not news to most of you, i think.

one of my biggest fears has always been having my klutziness kick in while i'm doing something with the bean. and with last week's STORM!WATCH!20!09! + a good number of stairs leading up to our apartment, i was being extra careful. and i was successful - for the most part.

after rushing around for the last hour, trying to get packed and ready for our first overnighter away from the bean/big client dinner, it was time to go and pick up the teen from school. i scooped up the bean, slung my purse over my shoulder, held up an umbrella to shield us from the pouring rain, and slowly descended the staircase.

but then i got to the pathway, started walking towards the garage - and slipped. i yelped, my feet went out from under me, the umbrella went flying, and my free hand shot out to break my fall as i tried my damnedest to keep the bean safe. and luckily, she never even touched the ground. but my right knee wasn't so lucky. i'd fallen on it hard - hard enough to tear a hole in my [awesome, super flattering seven skinny] jeans and scrape the shit out of the skin underneath. damn.

owwwwww. that shit really hurt. MIL appeared at the top of the stairs, having heard me cry out like a kicked-puppy, and i assured her that we were both okay as i got back up. the bean held on tight and gave me a kiss as i whimpered and walked, and i was just happy that it was me who got banged up and not her.

when the teen got in the car, the bean blurted out "mommy. fall! knee." such a little reporter. the teen looked at me and my torn jeans with wide eyes as i explained what had happened and told her i was okay. at least it didn't take too long for me to be able to laugh over it, despite the fact that my knee was achy and throbbing.

but now i was really afraid of my clumsy ass rocking the fabulous footwear i'd bought for the evening:

and to think, i thought the worst part of it was going to be my wussy lack of tolerance for high heels. i'd even bought these to help ease the discomfort:

after about half a million kisses from the bean, dropping off the teen at BFF's house, and a super duper fun traffic tango on the freeway, we finally arrived at the beautiful casa del mar. as the hub checked us in, i checked out the ginormous, beautiful christmas tree in the lobby.

the bellman led us up to our home for the night:

and as we walked into the beautifully appointed room, this is the first picture my lame ass took - an antique ferris wheel wind-up toy on the desk. i am weird sometimes.

and then i looked around to take in our luxurious digs:

there was all sorts of interesting stuff in the room, with lots of thoughtful touches everywhere.

is it wrong that i made a mental note to swipe that fun pencil?

the bathroom was large, well-appointed and also full of neat-o stuff that i totally snagged upon check-out.

and then i realized that i didn't have a whole lot of time to get ready and needed to get a move on. i, uh, still needed to take care of some pesky gray hairs all along my hairline and had packed a box of root touch-up, so i hopped into a bathrobe and turned on the tv to occupy me as the dye took effect.

before you get ready to slap me, know that i've done this about 3784327287 times. i'm a pro at it, so there wasn't a drop of dye to be found on that pristine white bathrobe, the marble floors, anywhere in the shower, or on the towel i used afterwards. hey, it was a big dinner for the hub and i wanted to look my best.

the rest of my getting-ready routine goes pretty quickly, so after rinsing the stuff out of my hair and taking a quick shower, slapping on some makeup and drying my hair, i was finally ready to step into my awesome new kate spade dress and strap on the shoes.

dinner was just across the street at the casa del mar's equally gorgeous sister hotel, shutters on the beach. there was a break in the rain, so we didn't have to take one of the giant umbrellas available at the door. after making a couple of wrong turns, we finally found our group in a warm, cozy meeting room facing the ocean. it was softly lit, decorated simply and beautifully, and perfect for a holiday gathering such as this.

when we took our seats, i eyed the menu to see what kind of yummy eats we'd be partaking in.

i had my camera in my lap with the flash turned off and ready to snap away. i was a little hesitant as i wasn't sure how the hub would react to it, but i risked his ire and snapped each course stealthily. i'm not sure if he even noticed it, but from the look of these shots, you'll see how rushed i was when i took them.

first and second courses: shaved tuna with lemon and olive oil, topped with arugula and a roasted beet salad with goat cheese. the first, oh so good. the second, not as much.

when given a choice between fish and steak, it's always a no-brainer for both me and the hub. and we were more than satisfied with the quality of the filet that was served with potato puree and asparagus spears. i'm always amazed when a kitchen can turn out really delicious food for a good-sized crowd - there were at least 60 of us in the room. the dessert was really good too - a chocolate lava cake served with hazelnut gelato, with a piece of birthday cake kickin' it to the side. one of the owners of the company hosting this gala turned 40 that day, and his partners had alerted the catering staff. they brought out a big chocolate cake with lit candles, much to his surprise and slight embarrassment.

we called it a night somewhere after 10:00. i know, i know, we're totally old folks. but we were tired and wanted to relax in our beautiful room, so after a quick stop in the [also beautiful] restroom, we were done.

as you can see, i was feeling pretty good about my appearance that night and documented it well. heh.

we got back to the room, where we snickered over the height of the second peephole in the door. "do they get a lot of midgets staying here?" the hub pondered.

i was happy to kick off those shoes. the dr. scholl's had helped somewhat, and it wasn't like i'd been standing around or hiking all night long, but i was still relieved to be out of them.

aaaaaand i couldn't resist just one more shot before i took off my pretty dress. yeah, it's a fairly simple frock, but i've always coveted kate spade's elegant style and was stoked to have one of her clothing pieces. i hope i get the chance to wear it again soon. it's so flattering.

turndown service included this cute little guy, sitting on the bed and begging to be taken home to the bean.

i thought about the bean and hoped she was doing well, and then i cracked open a book and got a little reading in before i finally passed out cold. the hub was absorbed in some movie on the giant flat-panel mounted on the wall, and we were snuggled and cozy in the big, smooshy bed.

around 5, i woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. bah! my knee hurt like a bitch and one side of my jaw was sore as hell. get your mind outta the gutter, i already told you, we fell asleep like old people reading and watching TV. i have issues that should've been corrected with braces and surgery, and i think i might have a case of TMJ but i've been too chicken to get it checked out. ugh. it might be time to finally get that taken care of.

i ended up switching on the bedside light and reading a little more before i noticed the hub was also awake, laying about a mile away (king-sized bed, you see) and playing poker on his phone. haha!

not wanting to get up and get ready just yet, we ordered room service for a little breakfast. i always wake up super hungry, and this morning was no exception. i was happy when the knock on the door came maybe 20 minutes later.

as the table was being set up, i checked out our rainy view. i bet it's simply gorgeous here in the summer:

the hub ordered an asparagus, mushroom and cheddar omelette that came with a slice of lime coffee cake, while i opted for cinnamon-sugared buttermilk pancakes and the ever-present side of bacon.

those pancakes looked wimpy and tiny on the plate, but they were really yummy and very filling. i was stuffed silly by the time i downed the last sip of hot chocolate and chomped on the last piece of bacon. by then, it was time to get dressed and head down to what i'd been looking forward to for weeks:

i stepped into the women's locker room and checked out the amenities. it was a fairly small room compared to other spas i've been in, but it had all the stuff one would need.

i opened a locker and changed into the cushy bathrobe and gold havaiiana flip-flops. i wanted to keep them (pay for them, of course. i'm not that ghetto), but you already know how good my luck is with those damn things.

i took these dark ass shots on the way out with my iPhone, but here's the lovely waiting area we sat in before and after our massages:

when i called for our appointment, i was told that the only room available to accommodate us was the couple's room. hey, that's cool. and so we enjoyed our indulgent 90-minute massages side-by-side. i always fight like hell to stay awake and savor every moment of spa treatments, but i always lose the battle at some point. with my head all stuffy and congested, i woke myself up with an embarrassingly loud snore and overheard the hub say "OMG, i'm so gonna give her crap for this" as his masseuse chuckled. damn. "you suck," i said loudly, and managed to retain consciousness for the balance of the massage.

as we sadly checked out, i got a few shots of the lobby area. i recognized the "zoltar" machine from one of my favorite movies, "big," and before i could get a closer look at the old-fashioned photo booth, the hub was waiting for me and the valet was outside with the car. poop.