LA Time: Beachy Keen

I am having an amazing time here in LA. Yesterday my sister & I headed up to Malibu to enjoy our old favorite stomping grounds. Back when Andrea went to Pepperdine she lived in a 4 bedroom place with 3 roomates, so pretty much I had own room and it was amazing. Yesterday we headed back to all our old favorite places (Coffee Bean, Planet Blue, M Fedric) people watched, shopped all the post-Christmas sales and window shopped at stores we had no business being in. Then we walked the beach & pier and enjoyed drinks and snacks. We couldn't have asked for the amazing weather that we enjoyed.

I couldn't stop staring at the ocean, it hypnotizes me.

A cocktail ocean side is the second best thing to being in the ocean.
I freaking love beach time.

I love the heck outta LA, and I plan on enjoying every minute I have down here.

Today I am playing with Sara in Hermosa, I wish I could share this amazing 70 degree weather with you all. I hope you get some playtime in this Thursday as well.

Things I love: Hearts & Sparkles

I hope you all are having an amazing Holiday season. My Christmas was filled with some Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga and Audrey Hepburn goodies. I love having inspirational TALENTED ladies as my heroes and idols. My Christmas was also filled with toys, gadgets and games because I believe you should always remain a kid at heart (however, emotionally you should ALWAYS be growing!!).

I love this time year because all my favorites come back to town and all my high school friends hang out just like they used to. I managed to squeeze in time with my high school clique, neighborhood gang, and reconnect with my guy friend crew.

They all make me feel young again, and there's a reason I've kept them around & so close for so long.

Being around those whom I love & respect shined a light on as to why I was keeping people close to me that were only bringing me down.

Never be afraid to remove people from your life that truly don't deserve your time, energy or love. It's not easy and it's a hard pill to swallow but sometimes it's just necessary.

Angie is my favorite Britney Spears fan and she's a LOV-ar & I heart the sparkles out of her!!

Today I'm off to LA to spend time with all my SoCal faves. I have very little planned besides an amazing white party on New Years Eve (my first time out celebrating since I was 20!!).

So excited to rock this hot little thing:

So seriously, if you're in LA and have some time I'm ALWAYS down for a coffee (or cocktail) you should hit me up.

And in the meantime watch me live blog from LA on Facebook (Amber Lane - friend/subscribe me or fan me Ambersnotebook) Twitter and on Instagram (Ambersnotebook).

I hope you use this time to think about what goals you would like to accomplish this year, BIG & SMALL.

My Goals, you ask?

-apply for Survivor

-continue my mission of spreading positive energy around

-attend as many parties as possible

-learn a new photobooth pose

-start making more money

-find a more permanent living situation

-hop back in the dating pool (SCARY!!)

-continue to ROCK MY THANG OUT!!

Things I Love: Half Birthdays

Today I turned 29 & a half.

AND A HALF.

And let me tell you, that half matters. The past 6 months have been a whirlwind (Tornado? HURRICANE?).

And I've gone through probably the biggest life change I have had thus far. My 29th birthday on June 14th marked a year since I sick with pneumonia.

During the two months that I spent in & out of the hospital, I began to reflect on why I was so unhappy with my life and I began to make some changes.

I decided I didn't want to be a teacher anymore. And I took a leap of faith that I could propel my blog into something more then a hobby.

I grew a pair (Mom, just Urban dictionary it) and started going to every party, event and meet up I heard about.

It might look easy, but it's hard to do. Going blindly into an event, party or situation is scary, and I'll be the first to tell you that.

{You don't even know how many times I got back in my car, drove away, and FORCED myself to go back and go inside}.

But I did it, and it paid off.

A year later I go to parties and events several times a week, and I couldn't be more gracious and excited about EVERY single one I attend.

And I am MORE then grateful & blessed with all the new friendships I've made, all the reconnecting I've done with old friends & all the relationships that have grown stronger these past months.

I have met some AMAZING people these past six months, and it's been unreal.

I'm looking forward to my next 6 months and you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be celebrating every SINGLE last day that I have in my Twenties.

It was a decade in my life that shaped and changed me into the woman (a Grown Ass one, obvi) that I am today.

I hope you're living the life you love, and if you're not, try to make some changes.

Big & small.

Loving your life is an amazing way to feel, trust me, I haven't always felt this way.

Don't be afraid.

Time to start party planning, my birthday party is going to be a doozy!!

Photobooth's are going to be necessary, duh.

Things I Love: Treating Myself

Ever wondered what items catch my eye when I'm shopping? Or need a couple more things to put on your holiday wislist? Make sure to check out my (and other fabulous SF & NY blogger's) Pop-up shops on SHopittome.com to see our must have items this Winter. My theme? PARTY hopping, duh. (Party hopping posts to follow...)

Peep the scene and let me know what you think!