happy birthday little sister

little sister,

i love you and you are my best friend.

your big sister

we love our tea parties

my little sister turns 20 today!!! wow! she has seriously grown into a wonderful, godly, loving, understanding, smart and beautiful woman! she is my best friend and my maid of honor! i love my sister soooo much and have been soooo blessed to have her in my life! happy birthday little sister!

easter pictures

 "A sister is a gift from God, sent from above to make life worthwhile here below."

christmas pictures

"No one knows better than a sister how we grew up, and who our friends, teachers and favorite toys were. No one knows better than she..."

more christmas pictures

"I smile because you are my sister, I laugh because there is nothing you can do about it!"

“I always like to win. But I'm the big sister. I want to make sure she has everything, even if I don't have anything. It's hard. I love her too much. That's what counts" - Venus Williams

grand canyon

"If your sister is in a tearing hurry to go out and cannot catch your eye, she's wearing your best sweater."

"There can be no situation in life in which the conversation of my dear sister will not administer some comfort to me."

wine tasting (don't worry, lauren was the DD)

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."  ~Author unknown, attributed to a 4-year-old named Lauren 

"To have a loving relationship with a sister is not simply to have a buddy or a confident; it is to have a soul mate for life."

swimming with dolphins in cancun

 "How do people make it through life without a sister?"  ~Sara Corpening

christmas 2010

There is no better friend than a sister.  And there is no better sister than you.

l.a. adventure

our group at the "hollywood" sign

living in the la area and going to pepperdine, i and many of friends have always wanted to try different places throughout la...and with the help of our tour guide (RYAN), and a "top 100 things to do in la" list, we were able to have a fun-filled saturday walking, eating and hanging with good company around la.

home of the maple bacon donut

OUR JOURNEY:

1. nickel diner: home of the famous 'maple bacon donut' some of you might say "yummy" others like me might say "ewwww..." but for all you like me give it a chance...it was soooo good! (i think i was the one that liked it the most!) cost: $2.25 + tip

2.  angel's flight and "500 days of summer" bench: a nice little walk to the famous bench and a very nice area to sit and take pictures. also we were able to walk down the stair of angel's flight (the shortest railway in the world) cost: free

the "500 days of summer" bench

3. grand central market: i have been here a few times and i have never been disappointed with the food. so many different types of food from chinese to mexican to el salvadoran...this time we had mexican food...i had some yummy tacos. cost: $2.50 (meat + 4 tortillas = 4 yummy tacos!)

the girls

4. griffith observatory park hike: the home of the hollywood sign hike...after all that food we were able to burn some of it off and gain an appetite. cost: free (we drove here and hiked up the path)

5. la metro: after a quick wardrobe change we headed to the la subway...definitely not like the ny subway but still something to visit/use while you are in la cost: $6.00 for all day use of the subway and buses throughout la

hiking

6. the MOCA: we took the subway down to the museum of contemporary art. a great place to see art that everyone wonders "how the heck do they consider this art?" haha cost: $5.00 with student ID

the moca

7. the dublin: we needed a little snack before dinner and also a great place for everyone to get a beer...they had over 50 beers on tap and all were $3.00 and we all shared some yummy onion rings!

cost: about $1.00 for splitting some rings (i am not a beer drinker, but the others who drank some said they had some yummy beers)

some of the pepperdine crew

8. wurstkuche: yummy grilled sausages and fries and different types of beers! i had the veggie-apple-potato-sage sausage and some wonderful fries with bleu cheese-walnut-bacon dipping sauce.  the atmosphere is so hip and a great place to hang with friends. cost: $6.00 for the sausage and $5.00 for a large fry to share

home of 'exotic grilled sausages'

9. mikawaya mochi ice cream: a little ice cream and mochi shop in little tokyo...i think i have found my new obsession! cost: $3.00 ($1.00 per mochi...you can't just have one!)

the boys

10. shatto 39 lanes: we ended the night at a bowling ally. cost: about $9.00 (for 1 game and shoes)

as you can see it was a very inexpensive day with lots of fun activities and amazing company...if you and some of your friends ever have a free day you should defiantly have an "la adventure" 

irish day!

happy st. patrick's day!!!

one of my family's favorite holidays! growing up with a name like "shannon shea," st. patrick's day is another major holiday in my home!  

some things i assumed growing up irish:

- not wearing green on march 17th is a sin

- every house eats corned beef and cabbage for st. patty's day

- st. patrick's day is like thanksgiving...there are always leftovers for the days to come...corned beef sandwich, hash browns and corned beef, stew, etc.

- it is normal to have a kitchen with 4+ crock-pots cooking corned beef and cabbage

- everyone loves potatoes!

"For each petal on the shamrock

This brings a wish your way -

Good health, good luck, and happiness

For today and every day"

 May the Irish hills caress you.

May her lakes and rivers bless you.

May the luck of the Irish enfold you.

May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.

~Irish Blessing

zella love

around christmas time my mum and i were shopping at nordstroms. we were just browsing around when a sales lady said "have you tried these?" pointing to some yoga pant/leggings. i told her that i had saw them in their recent catalog, but hadn't purchased them...she told me that she was wearing a pair and that the other sales lady was also...hmmm...she said i should try them on...i did and LOVED them!!! mum decided to get me a pair to put under the tree :)

i truly "live-in" these

since christmas i have worn these soooo many times! i love them soooo much! seriously i wear these all the time and found/bought some other ones (capri and yoga) from the rack for a great price (i wear these to work)! 

but then the greatest thing happened today...we were at nordie's (wearing my zellas) and i decided just to look at the zellas...and then...ta da...they were on sale!!!!! sad thing was that they didn't have my size...but they are going to find them and ship them to me :) (hopefully i can wait!)

but seriously these are the best leggings ever! they don't fade, they are sooo comfy, you can dress them up or work out in them, they are not at all see through (like many types of leggings)

have a great evening! i know i will since i am wearing my zellas (haha i know i am lame!)

to give up...or not to give up? that is the question...

happy fat tuesday! hopefully you have eaten all your favorite foods and are stuffed cause you know what tomorrow is......ASH WEDNESDAY and the beginning of LENT! and you know that during lent it is "suggested" to give something that you love dearly up! if you didn't succeed in your new year's resolution this is your second chance! haha but not really! ;)

growing up we were told to give up something like candy, soda (actually did this one year and i am still not drinking soda...or as much as i use to), ice cream, chips, etc. i remember hearing people say "i am going to give up swearing!" and i thought "well duh! you shouldn't just give it up for lent but FOREVER!"

i think many of us may have the whole 'giving up thing wrong.' i remember when i was around 16 that my priest gave a homily/sermon on the season of lent...he spoke saying that you can either give up something or do something...all that mattered was that your goal was to get closer to God...wow this made me so happy...now instead of giving up soda or yogurt or something, i could do something instead...i tried reading a chapter of the bible everyday during lent...well i did that...then i believe the next year i did that too...then later on in my college years i brought in matt and our relationship and we both began reading together, then last year we did a devotion everyday together...

the past few days (i should start thinking about this maybe in january) i have been trying to think of something i could do this year...well the bible study we are in requires us to read 2 chapters of the bible everyday so that is already covered...maybe a devotion with matt? well we already do that...hmmm....i am still trying to think and i can't figure out anything...

well maybe this year is the year i give up something...i thought maybe yogurt! hmmm that seems really really hard...but isn't that what it is suppose to be? HARD? so that we can get closer to God during this season...

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster." -Joel 2:12-13

say 'yes' to the dress: bridesmaid edition

a while ago i was looking through a PEOPLE magazine where they had some highlights of some famous person's wedding (don't ask me who? cause i totally forgot...ha), where the bridesmaids (there were a lot of them with a broad range of ages/body types) all wore different black dresses. 

i thought this was a perfect idea for my wedding/bridesmaids. we all know what entails with the dreaded bridesmaid's dresses: too expensive for one time use, not very flattering on everyones body types, the color is a tough color to wear again, and so on and so on...i love the idea of every girl being able to show their own personality and also feel beautiful/comfortable in the dress of their choosing.

friday after work i had a miss call and a text message from my aunt and cousin...they found the perfect bridesmaid's dress for jenna! jenna brought over the dress on saturday and we both played dress up like we did when we were little, but now i was in my wedding dress and she was in her little black bridesmaid dress! i absolutely loved the dress! she got hers from white house/black market. here are a few pictures:

my beautiful bridesmaid/cousin

my favorite part of the dress: the ruffles

simple yet elegant backside

i am hoping to have a girls day outing to either nordies, white house/black market, jcrew and/or banana republic to find the rest of the dresses with my bridesmaids...any other good stores to find some cute "little black dresses"?

engagement party

our engagement party was beyond amazing! we had a fiesta theme at my aunt and uncle's house, with yummy food, great atmosphere and wonderful family and friends! thanks to all who came...matt and i are very blessed to have you all in our lives!

here are a few pictures from the party and quotes from cards we received:

"engagement...a beautiful announcement by two happy people...it brings romance to the present and promise for the future...it brings the joy of love into two lives forever."

"on your engagement. roses are red...violets are blue...just want you to know...i'm so happy for YOU!"

"wishing you every happiness at this wonderful and exciting time in your life, and for all the days and years to come."

"now forever...some things are just meant to be."

"may your engagement be a time of beautiful dreams - may your marriage be a lifetime of beautiful dreams come true."

"and so begins the beautiful journey"

"celebrating your love, sharing the anticipation and wishing your every happiness!"

"wishing you a lifetime of love with the love of your life."

"two hearts, two lives, one love to join them."

"getting married means sharing your toys...and sharing your joys"

"very best wishes on the wonderful news of your engagement!"

"for this special moment, we wish you beautiful memories"

the wonderful party planners!!! my wonderful aunt sharon and BUD (aka best uncle dennis) THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU xoxox

royal wedding fever

every weekday morning i go to the gym to get my run on and this is where i catch up on my news from abc good morning america. my favorite report is about the future royal wedding. i get sooo excited to hear all the news about their royal nuptials

today i found out that their official royal wedding site is up and running. there is something about the royal couple...well more kate that i just love!

i will be watching/dvr-ing the royal wedding!