Vassallo Family Blog

To New Zealand we go ...

2010-08-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

It has been pointed out to me that some people actually do read this blog so I should keep it up even if I've moved most of the photo posting to Facebook. I'm glad to hear it and I will do my best to keep you updated on our travels.

On that note our next adventure lies in New Zealand. John accepted the job at Weta and will be starting in early September! We are both very excited for a few reasons. New Zealand is amazing first of all. Secondly, Weta has made some great films (Lord of the Rings, Avatar, etc) so it will be good for John's career and look great on his resume. Lastly, the cost of living is rather low in Wellington. Even though it is an island and things like clothes and some food has to be imported, things like rent are very low because Wellington is a much smaller town and infinitely less expensive than LA or Sydney. Because Weta pays fairly well and I will be getting a job this time, our income will increase while our expenses will be going down. All good things for our goal of home ownership when we get back to the states.

We are excited for the change of scenery and pace but will miss Sydney that is for sure. We've really grown to love this city. Its an amazing place that, while still feeling a bit foreign, feels like home. We are hoping to return for a visit someday maybe with our kids.

We were really hoping to come home for a visit before we left for NZ but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. There was a mix up with the studio and our flights would have incurred a lot of charges to change the dates. Whilst (an aussie term haha) moving to another country, spending money on vacations is not really the best plan. I called the airline and tried to shuffle things around as much as I could but it still would have cost us over $2K to come home, we would only be able to stay for about 5 days, we would have spent our first anniversary on a plane, and John would have to go to work the day after we got to New Zealand. Not exactly the ideal situation. So instead we are planning on taking an extended trip during Christmastime. We plan to come home for about a month. This will give us enough time to visit friends in LA, John will spend a good amount of time with family and friends in the midwest, and I will be able to go visit everyone in Detroit for Christmas plus also enjoy some time being a new aunt in Seattle with my family. All in all this seemed like the best plan even though we will miss everyone for another few months.

On a side note .... can I just tell you how happy I am that we have over a month to plan this move instead of just two weeks? Who the hell moves to another country in two weeks?! Crazy people!

Love you all and miss you tons
- Mel

Overdue post

2010-07-11T20:12:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

I apologize for not writing sooner if you are following this blog. I've kind of transferred most of my posting to Facebook considering most family members seem to have made a profile on there. Here is the link to my page, not sure if this will work right but you can try, or just go on there and search for Melissa Vassallo.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=1050609915

In my photos section you will find a ton of albums containing pics from our travels. I've been taking a lot of photos and posting them on there. In theory Facebook is easier to upload photos on and organizes them better than this blog will allow.

If you don't have a Facebook account you may not be able to view everything. I do keep my profile public but I highly suggest signing up and adding me as a friend. Its free and a great way to stay in touch with people. Ok, enough Facebook endorsements haha.

John and I have really settled into life here in Sydney. We both really love this place, and of course now our time here is coming to a close. The job hunt has been stressful as always but John has really been doing an amazing job of it all. Doing contract work is not easy to deal with in any case but with his demanding work schedule on top of things it does take its tole. There is never really one clear path and we are still deciding on where we will go next but the options are staying here, going home, or going to New Zealand. I will post more about our choice when the dotted line is signed but New Zealand is looking like the most likely choice. Not exactly what we had planned but life leads you in different directions sometimes, as we are clearly proof of.

As for me I'm doing great. I went to Brisbane with a friend a couple weekends ago which was really fun. We tooled around the city and took lots of photos. We went to the GoMA art museum and had a lot of fun. There is a separate album of photos of my trip on Facebook.

My work is going well. They asked me to come in more this month as we are training a new batch of volunteers for the new school term. The kids here go to school all year long so we have to bring in new volunteers to work with them each term. I believe there are 4 terms total each year and we are going into term 3. I am really enjoying work and get along great with the other ladies in my program. I'm pretty sure they are happy with me too considering they are having me come in more often now. I really love my work not just for what I'm doing but also because it adds structure to my week and gives me a peek into the "real Australia". Its easy to float around with only a tourist's perspective but working in another country has given me a look into how life really is here. I love it!

I got a Jobby Job!

2010-05-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

I am sitting here on the couch after a wonderful weekend with John. I always love whenever he has a day off. I know this sounds fundamental but in this biz any day off he has is golden and I never take them for granted.

In addition to his crazy work schedule I am adding my own to the mix. Nothing major but I did get some volunteer work.

I know you may ask, why volunteer work? The answer is threefold .... #1 We are only going to be here until the beginning of October and don't really have any plans for staying past that time. Not that I have tried much but I assume that it will be hard for me to find paid employment for such a short period of time in the kind of work I do. I would either have to lie and say we were staying longer or I would have to quit after 4 months which wouldn't do anything for my recommendation or resume. #2 I have been thinking about trying out the non-profit sector for some time now. Not that I wasn't good at my sales based job but I really want to try doing something more fulfilling, something that makes me feel really good about what I do and that makes a positive impact on the world around me. #3 I have no desire to spend 70 hours a week of my time here in an office being a slave. I still want to enjoy this experience and do some exploring not just working. Plus John and I both have really enjoyed having one of us at home during the week to do all the little things we never had time for in LA when both of us were working all the time.

So as altruistic as it sounds I did some poking around into volunteer positions a while back. I ran into a lot of roadblocks because some of the places I applied for seemed to have restrictions and back asswards ways of doing things. But that's par for the course in Oz. I won't go into that, just see my rant about setting up the internet and apply to this topic. LOL!

I filled out some online forms and registered with some organizations but didn't hear anything back for a few weeks. I had kind of given up when I got a call from someone with SPARK, the St. Vincent de Paul Society Assisting Refugee Kids. Basically they are a social services organization run through the St. Vincent de Paul Society's state office here in New South Wales. They help refugee children from over 20 countries, mainly Sudan, with education and housing placement, after school programs, ESL education, child care and any other services they might need.

The position is an Administrative Assistant to the program coordinators. One of my many jobs before we left LA was Administrator to our sales team at PromoShop so needless to say I was very comfortable with the task ahead.

I hadn't written a resume or had a job interview since 2001 if you can believe it. It isn't a life or death situation if I didn't get the job either so it was perfect practice for me. I went in for the interview last Tuesday and felt really good about it when I left. They told me that they were going to interview a few more applicants before I would hear back that Friday. I got a call around noon on Wednesday saying that they were very impressed and weren't going to do any more interviews. I got the job! WOO! It feels so good to put myself out there like that again and come up victorious.

So I will be doing general admin work on the other side of town every Thursday for the next few months. They will probably up it to two days a week later on. I'm really excited about it. It shouldn't be very difficult but I will be trying my hand in a new industry and gaining some experience in a different field while still using the skills I have learned over the last 10 years in my career. Its PERFECT!

Melly vs. Nature

2010-05-10T17:35:00.000-07:00

I have made a friend down here named Mary Jo. She is the wife of one of John's friends at work. She and I quickly bonded due to both being in a similar situation. We both quit our jobs to come here following our husbands and are currently not working. Plus we are both cancers and I usually get along famously with other cancers.

Its kind of funny because there are many things about being a significant other to an animator, or at least someone in this industry, that you just wouldn't get unless you were in it. She and I joke about being military wives in a way.

Anyways, so seeing as how the boys work 6 days a week we have decided to do some exploring on our own. Last week she hit me up and said that she wanted to check out the royal national park. This is a huge national park just south of Sydney about an hour outside of town via train.

So we hopped on the train at Bondi Junction near her house and John's work,

then traveled south to Loftus aka BFE!

We were hoping to take the tram from the Loftus station further into the park but we found out the tram only runs on Wednesdays, Sundays and public holidays... Oh Australia.

So we hopped back on the train

and headed one more stop south to Engadine aka nowhere. I had looked online the previous night and knew that there was a trail that ran from Engadine to Audley towards the middle of the park. When we got there we had to ask some locals where the trail was because there were no markers or signs. It was literally a path leading off into the bush from the wrong side of the tracks.

At first it was kinda cool. Not much to look at but it was interesting to see what the real Australian terrain looks like. It looked pretty much like what I expected it to look like. Lots of trees,
some bushes, more trees, rocks, oh yeah and some trees.We did come across the occasional flower though. That was a thrill. lol

We ran into some massive palm bushes. Here is Mary Jo being swallowed up by some.

About halfway through the hike we came to the top of a ridge, in the middle of a bunch of trees of course. Off in the distance you could see the ocean. Everything in between was the national park.

The whole time the bugs were swarming me, as usual. They were all over my face and trying to get inside my ears. UGH Naturally Mary Jo didn't have any bugs near her. Apparently I taste good or something.

About an hour and a half into the hike I stopped because I thought I heard a noise in the bushes. Considering I had been swatting bugs the whole way I didn't want to do the "OMG what was that?!?!" thing because I didn't want Mary Jo to think she was in the middle of the woods with some paranoid nature freak. So instead I just stopped on the trail to "take a photo". Really I was just stopping to see if I heard the noise again. Here are the photos I took.

When I took the one above I even thought to myself "man that would be a nice little shelter for an animal".

I didn't hear the noise again after a few moments so I kept walking. About ten paces down the path a big ol' snake darted right next to me on the path. It was about an inch and a half - two inches wide and was a weird grey color.

I don't think I have ever moved so fast in my whole life. The stupid thing was that I moved in the direction down the path that I was already headed so when I decided it was DEFINITELY time to go home I had to back track past the spot where I saw the thing. I'm sure I looked like those cartoons where yosammity Sam shoots at the feet of the hero and tells them to dance.

This was the only other photo I took the whole time because all I wanted was to get the hell out of there. The trip back went a LITTLE bit faster than the trip into the bush, even though it was uphill hahaha LOL!

I consulted Google later on that night and found what I think it was. A Pale-Headed Snake.

I determined this by the photos I had taken before I saw it which matched a description of its habitat and behavior. It likes to sun itself on sandstone overhangs on the side of hills in that park during the day. It is poisonous but not deadly. Unfortunately while I was researching I found that four of the most poisonous snakes in the world are found in that park... the kind that are deadly.

I will not be going back, nor will I be doing any more hiking anywhere else in the bush. I had a vision of going to Ayers Rock or something like that while we are here but that is so not happening now.

Nature doesn't like me.
ExciE

Happier Posts

2010-04-30T22:46:00.000-07:00

See .. I told you! haha on to happier posts.

Here are some pics I realize I haven't put up yet. They are from about a month ago but I will catch up. Better to keep things as chronological as possible I guess. I will try to write a brief explanation for them as well.

This was taken from the rooftop patio just outside our hotel room. The photo doesn't do it justice. It was the most amazing sunset. The lighting hitting the clouds made the whole sky look ablaze.

People really like to paint their cars here. We see them all the time. So weird. I feel like I'm living in Fremont or something. Anyways, this one was particularly amazing. Please note the handmade antennae affixed to the roof. Um yeah .... and its on your team.

Sydney has so many beeeeeeautiful parks. This was taken in Hyde park which is the equivalent to Central Park. Its right next to the CBD (central business district) and is one of my favorite places to read, and John's to draw.
This photo is the beginning in a saga ending with me scrubbing Sydney's red light district off my bare feet.. as you can see above John and I took a long walk around town one day. This photo was taken in Circular Quay which I have since learned is pronounced Circular "KEY". This is the area of Sydney where all of the ferries and cruise ships come to dock.

Here we are looking all couple-y in front of the opera house. Don't mind the wikked tan lines. They are better now :)

One of the highlights of the day .... giant cheese ball. Holy NOM!

We kept walking to the other side of Circular Quay where there is a great view of the Sydney Harbor Bridge aka "The Coat Hanger"

Around the next bend we came up on the Opera House. Such cool architecture.

I decided to to take a few artsy fartsy shots.

.. and a shot of Farm Cove. I jog around this part of the Botanic Gardens when I have the energy. There is a path that winds around the cove here. Our apartment is just on the other side of that far hill.

And then ....

my sandal broke.

As you know, once your flip flop breaks there is no limping around on it. Its just done. No sense in trying. As I mentioned our house is on the other side of that far hill in the previous photo. At this time we were still at the hotel which is one hill beyond that and happened to be located in the middle of the red light district, a neighborhood good for entertainment but not exactly the place I wanted to be walking around barefoot.

The first part of the journey wasn't so bad because I could walk on the grass through the botanic gardens. Once we got to the Finger Warf near our place now we decided to cab it back to the hotel. The cabby got stuck in a one way area and couldn't turn around easily. Instead of paying the guy a million bucks to take us door to door John said for him to drop us off, in the middle of Kings Cross = YUCK. I had to walk about three blocks without shoes through some nasty back alley coated in 20 years of bum piss and frat boy barf. I immediately jumped in the shower upon arrival. HA HA :P

Long time no type

2010-04-30T21:48:00.001-07:00

First of all I apologize to those who actually follow this blog. I know i haven't posted in a while. There are a few reasons for this but I am sorry for the 40% that can be attributed to my own laziness.

The other 60% I blame on the last month or so. Its been a doozie. Nothing terrible but it has been one of the harder months through this whole experience. We knew going into this that not every day was going to be crocodile smiles and rainbows over the opera house. haha I believe the last time I wrote we were still staying at the hotel. Since then we found an awesome apartment which we are sharing with our roommate Lindsay. But the last month was full of setting-up-house activities some of which made us want to bash our heads on the beautiful stone counter tops.

We have quickly found that, while Sydney is an absolutely beautiful city with perfect weather and plenty to do, the system and infrastructure here in Australia has a little left to be desired. Nothing we can't move beyond but we have had many an "Oh Australia" moment.

Examples ... (sorry this may sound a bit negative, keep in mind that we are totally over all of it at this point and really enjoying our stay now but to recap the last month here you go)

1. In order to rent our refrigerator we had to give the rental company a copy of our passports not drivers licenses, credit card, previous rental history with references, a copy of our lease with references, and at least three personal references of people who live in Australia that don't live with us and aren't family members. At the time I told the guy "I don't know three people who live in Australia" to which I got a quick "tough shiz". Fortunately we made a few friends out here who were kind enough to vouch for us. All this for a used small fridge by US standards that is probably worth about $400.

2. In order to get a Blockbuster card we had to again bring copies of our passports because they wouldn't accept our CA driver's licenses, credit card, phone number and a copy of our lease proving residency. When you make an account with them they don't give you a Blockbuster card. You have to remember the phone it is registered under and the pin number. We went through all this and went to go pay for our movie, come to find they have a $10 minimum for debit/credit card transactions. We walked out, cooled off, got cash, went back, got our movie, THEN come to find out the disc drive for my computer has decided to crap out on us. LOL! <--- really, its laughable at this point. :) 3. The electricity is billed differently here. They basically hedge on what you are going to use because they will only send someone out to read the meter every quarter, not every month. So right now we are paying $80 a month for electricity (which is way more than we paid in LA) for the next three months because that's what the reading was last quarter. When they come to read the meter next they will adjust the rate. I have the feeling that if it is less they will probably not tell us. I'm sure we will be notified if it is more though haha!

4. Oh the internet. This is where the differences between the US and OZ are most apparent. First of all it seems that the phone companies and the internet providers are in cahoots. They want you to pay for a phone line which no one ever needs in the day of cell phones. If you don't have a phone line they make you get one, for an additional contract through a company unrelated to the ISP. Once that is in place you can have someone come check to see if internet is even possible at your home. Yes, here in OZ there are places where you can't get internet. I don't know how people survive. In addition to the phone line thing most of the ISP require a 2 year contract. This obviously doesn't do us any good because we aren't going to be here that long. We tried checking with the cable TV providers but were told by one that we can't get cable in our building, another wanted a 2 year contract. So after a solid week of searching and talking to these providers on his lunch, on a pre paid phone by the way, John was able to find one company who would give us internet through the phone line via one company, not two, and without a 2 year contract. In LA we paid $15 a month for internet, here we are paying $60 but that's the way it is and we are lucky we can get it at all it seems. You would think that they would want to install the internet as quickly as possible so they could start charging us, nope. We were told it might take up to 28 days. TWENTY EIGHT DAYS!!!! WTF!? yeah so after a week we called back and I was a beotch to them. It got the ball rolling though. They had to send one guy out from the phone company to check the line, then another guy to connect the wires or something to our unit. THEN they sent out a courier with our modem who I had to send back because he ding dong dashed the first time. The guy who came to set up the service didn't set anything up really. All he did was make sure the line was open and said "ok good luck". I had to call the IT guys at the provider and sit on hold for hours to get it working. John had to set up our wireless network himself. .. yeay for men :)

5. Most of the bills here are paid weekly or fortnightly (every two weeks) yet employers pay you every month not every two weeks. Because John and I got here ahead of our roomie we handled most of the deposits and had to float rent for the whole unit ourselves for a few weeks. Also, his relocation bonus worked like a reimbursement or expense account so we had to wait for that to come back to us after submitting our receipts. We felt like we were bleeding money for the first month or so. Things are sorted out now that Lindsay is here (the roomie), John got paid, and the relocation bonus was deposited into our account. But man we were living pretty slim for a few weeks there!

So anyways, we had a month of frustration setting things up, we watched our savings whither away and had no internet connection to keep in touch. Add to that the fact that we tapped out our relocation bonus and had to wait for the roomie to get here so we could get the rest of our furniture. It was a little desolate in our house with only a bed and no outside connection. But all is well now. We have furniture, free TV thanks to a socket in the wall connected to an antenna, savings back in the bank, a credit card back in the black, and internet that, for the most part, seems to work ok.

All is right with the world ... on to happier posts! :)

New pics

2010-03-28T14:56:00.001-07:00

I don't know about you but I am really more into pictures than reading about some chick who has too much time on her hands. ... *ahem*

So here you go ... more to come :)

Ok NOW it has hit me

2010-03-28T14:28:00.001-07:00

John always jokes about my having to do everything 110%, sometimes to my own detriment. On the flip side this has been part of the basis for a pretty good work ethic on my part if I do say so. Sometimes I slack, like everyone else, but it doesn't last long. I've always had at least one job, if not two and classes like I did in high school. The longest I have ever been without a job since I was 14 and a half was 2 weeks in 2000 when I discovered I was only hired to run my boss' business for a month while she went on holiday in Cambodia. Fortunately she put me in touch with PromoShop which I then stayed with for the 10 years following while Dj'ing or finishing my AA degree.

Needless to say the present moment is a new reality for me.

Here I sit in our hotel room preemptively tidying up while waiting for the maid to come by (my cue to go for a jog) after John went off to work. Can you say you are a housewife if you are still staying at a hotel? Not sure. Either way the fact that I didn't head off to my own 9-5 (or 8 - 9) this morning was a little weird.

Up until this point it really has just felt like we were on vacation. John's been off and aside from the whole finding and apartment thing which was a real bear, we haven't had to do much besides go explore our new city. Now that he's back at work I feel like I duped everyone into thinking I was sick or that my own work is on some company specific holiday. I feel like I should be back at PromoShop sitting at my desk, sipping my third americano, and listening to Pandora. Which, by the way, you can't listen to in Australia! ARG! Apparently there is a licensing issue. I'm so pissed but that's another story...

So yeah ... PromoShop. So friggin strange that I am not there right now. It was such a part of my life for so long I don't know if I have totally separated my brain yet. I mean I didn't do anything in my whole life longer than I worked there. Not grade school, not Dj'ing, nothing. I watched everyone's kids grow up, people get married, clients pass away, it was really like an alternate family in a way, and really you can't just resign from your family. I am sure there are a few people there who think I bailed for an adventure and they will never see me again but its not that easy. I still keep in touch with Carlos daily and have been sending emails to a bunch of my other peeps. It just doesn't feel right not to talk to them every day.

I am pretty sure I will be looking for work down here in a month or so. Something part time or even volunteer maybe. I had grand plans of reading in the park every day and being a "lady of leisure" as John likes to say, but I think at some point that little voice in my head will tell me I need to be more productive. However, in the meantime I am on the brink of finishing two books I had been working on for over a year. Ah free time, how I have missed you :)

Photos on Facebook

2010-03-20T04:39:00.000-07:00

I will be posting photos on here but in case you are antsy and on Facebook I have posted some there as well. They are in my photos in the album called "Aussie Adventure"

Strange Cultural Differences: Part 1

2010-03-20T03:56:00.000-07:00

I have a tendency to notice things that are off, out of place, strange or unusual. John does too and between the two of us this move has produced some great commentary.

Here are some of the things we have noticed.

- They print things on different size paper. Prints, photocopies, all of it. Seems to be about 8-1/4" by 12" instead of 8-1/2" by 11". This has rendered the few folders I brought with us obsolete.

- I have heard that cops in the US have to "hide in plain sight". Like they will radar you and catch you for speeding but they have to be where you can see them even if just around a bend in the road otherwise its entrapment. Here they will straight up hide behind a building and sneak up on you. The under-covers don't drive cars that look like cop cars either. We saw a few busting someone on the street who were driving a beater.

- The bums sound like pirates. YARRRR got some change mate YAAAAARRRR

- All of the dogs look just a little bit different. I can't totally describe it. I could say "yeah that's a pit" or "that's a cocker spaniel" but the cocker spaniels have longer legs and the pits have more of a dingo-ish face. All of them are just a little bit elongated.

- You don't tip here, which is one part cool and one part guilt-inducing. It makes for this really awkward but cool thing where you go up to the counter (even in nice places) at the end of your meal and somehow they magically know everything you ordered even if the person ringing you up has never been to your table. I think we discovered tonight that in the really nicer places you should still tip a little, but I don't really know ... insert guilt ridden confusion.

- The value for your money here is way low. Its pretty much the only bad thing I can say about it. We have been looking for apartments and it is just insane how much people will pay for zero space in a so-so building here. And we are coming from west LA, we are used to paying a ton for no space.

- On that note hunting for apartments is different here too. You don't set up appointments with the landlords or managers here. They send a third party realtor out to open the unit and about 40 people flood the place to take a peek. I felt like I was at a cattle call for survivor this morning. The hardest part is that they only do these "inspections" on Saturdays usually and the units are only open for about 15 min. Then you have to haul ass to the next one before it closes.

- They seem to really be into fashion here. Not in the glitzy LA look-at-me-and-my-money kinda way but in actually appreciating the design. Fashion TV is everywhere. Even in bars as if it were ESPN. I've seen tons of cute little shops and the shoes! OMG the shoes!

- They really like cars that are one part one thing and one part another. I think I described this in my previous post. I am still trying to catch a pic of the weird sedan/minivan combo.

- The vegetables that come from Australia are HUGE. I mean HUUUUUGE. The green onions are the size of celery. But then you will look at the apples that aren't from Australia and they are half the size of what they are in the US.

- They love lawn bowling. I have seen it on prime time television and we have seen many courts (or whatever you call them) around town. They also have lots of grass tennis courts. Not something you see in the states much.

- They don't have a penny. Everything we have bought has been in whole increments. I am sure these things are connected.

Ok more to come I am sure. But for now that's what I could think of :)

We have ARRIVED!

2010-03-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

Well we made it! After a very long flight we are now in the land of Oz.

The flight wasn't too terrible. I have a problem with turbulence. It kinda freaks me out. But we were on a very large 747 which made the bumps and jolts more of a rocking and rolling motion. Not too bad. In fact afterward I kind of had sea legs even. Well, that and sticky legs considering I went and knocked over an entire glass or apple juice into my lap about an hour before landing.

When we got off my pants were dry but a little sticky and uncomfortable. Thankfully I wore black. Customs went quickly and they had a very efficient line for taxi service but by the time we got in the car we were feeling pretty disgusting after lugging our bags around in the heat. It is hot here. Not scalding but definitely still summer. Its more humid here than LA but temperature-wise about the same.

Driving on the other side of the road is a trip but like most people will tell you, you kind of get over it after a couple of hours. We had a little trouble finding our hotel. Our cab driver ended up backing down a one way street in front of our hotel and because there were lots of bags in the back he didn't notice the giant pole in his way. He slammed right into it. We thought he had hit another car which would have been worse. Its kind of funny now because every time we leave the hotel we are reminded by the shrapnel laying in the street.

The worst thing (which really wasn't that bad) is that when we rolled up to our hotel tired, oily, disheveled and sticky they didn't have our room ready yet. We had to wait another couple of hours because we got there before checkout. Fortunately we were in a brand new place with plenty to see so occupying our time, even when looking like crap, wasn't too hard. The area we are in is very cute an Euro looking. It seems like kind of a venice-capitol hill type of area. Lots of young people and travelers. Our hotel is really nice and plenty of room for us for now.

As you can see from the above image they REALLY like cars that are one part car and one part something else. At the airport we saw a straight up chop lob where the front was a sedan and the back was a minivan. So weird.

Ok gotta run. Will write more tonight. Time to go get a bank account and new cell phone :)

p.s. there is lawn bowling on TV right now. WTF?!?!?

Now for something completely different

2010-03-11T10:45:00.000-08:00

So! ...

Where to I begin?

Here's the short of it and I will continue from there.

Basically John got a job working on a movie in Sydney Australia. We have wanted to live abroad for a while now and have discussed the possibility many times so when this came up we went "well... no kids, no mortgage, why the hell not??!"

Why have I not posted about this sooner you ask? Because basically we have only had 2 weeks to quit our jobs, pack up our life, throw everything into storage, and move to another country neither of us have ever been to. haha

Wheew! Do yourself a favor. When moving to another country give yourself more than 2 weeks to pull it all together.

So as of now we are in Seattle to drop my car off with my parents who have generously offered to store it while we are away. We had a great little road trip that we do not care to repeat (exhausting) and fly out from here on Sunday.

More to come...

Hallo-wheaties

2009-11-01T13:28:00.000-08:00

Hey, hope everyone had a great Halloween! Heres a picture of our costumes from this year. A couple of days, 4 cardboard boxes and a few tubes of poster paint turned us into a complete breakfast. We went over to the West Hollywood Halloween parade last night and walked around with all the crazies, as well as a few good friends. It was fun!

Sneak Peek ... wedding photos!

2009-09-21T16:44:00.000-07:00

Hola!

Here are some of our wedding photos courtesy of our fabulous photographer's website.

Here is also a gallery where you can view more of them and order prints if you wish!

Title: Melissa + John
Passcode: movies
Gallery Expiration: Wednesday February 10, 2010

Click here to visit the gallery!

Mark Brooke Photographers
http://www.markbrooke.com/

Honeymoon

2009-09-17T14:11:00.001-07:00

Well we are back from our fabulous honeymoon. It was so awesome to get away. We were on the island of Kauai for 7 days. It was so relaxing and much needed. Our room was awesome, nearly the size of our apartment and equip with a full kitchen which came in handy. We saved a lot of time and money by cooking some of our own meals and it was easy to get food from the Safeway across the street. When we walked into the condo there was a basket of goodies courtesy of Abel & Abby too!

The resort was awesome. They had a winding river pool that covered almost 2 acres. The beach was just beyond that. We managed to work out almost every day in the fitness center too which was awesome. We spent a lot of time in one of the three hot tubs. Excessive hot tubbing is kind of a must for any of our vacations. When we went on our Mexican cruise we spent most of our time in the hot tub too. After this trip we have decided that we need two things ... a king sized bed, and a hot tub (once we buy a house)

Despite the tractor beam the hot tub had locked on us we did get around the island quite a bit. We didn't really plan any of it, just hopped in the car and picked a direction. We quickly discovered that we liked the Eastern and Northern sides of the island more than the South or Western sides. Good thing too considering we were staying on the eastern side.

Lihue was really small so not much need to go there. We did get to Wiamea Canyon on the south western side but we quickly opted NOT to hike there when we ran into two goat hunters with rifles. Um ... getting shot wasn't exactly in the itinerary. Then on the way down from the canyon we got stuck in a crazy downpour which made the road pretty treacherous. Add to that the fact that we had to drive nearly 40 miles to find anything to eat besides Subway, we stuck to the eastern and north side after that.

We did find a cool beach on the south end next to the Marriott. It was in a nice little cove and the waves weren't too crazy by Hawaii standards. When we discovered it the first time we just had a little lunch at Dukes outdoor restaurant there but then came back another day so John could scratch his surfing itch. He made friends with a Monk Seal even if he didn't quite catch any waves. I, on the other hand, read my book in the sun. I am a little wary of the ocean, but this respect for sharks and the current lead me to generating a wicked tan shoreside ;)

We drove up the north side one day. Ran into Hanalei bay which was beautiful. On the way we spotted a place to rent kayaks so we went back there another day to try them out. We paddled up and down one of the rivers on the north side of the island which was awesome and peaceful. It was a lot of fun even though John ran me straight into a bush a few times. Knowing how much I love "nature" (meaning bugs) I have the feeling his lack of steering was more for his entertainment than anything. lol! :P

Later in the week we went for a hike up the Na Pali (sp) coast. Two of the local girls who worked at our resort took us bar hopping one night. They told us about a hike at "the end of the road". It was literally at the end of the road. You can't drive all the way around the island but if you drive to the end of the north shore there is an awesome beach and a hike that leads you up around the part of the island you can't drive to. It was quite a hike let me tell you. When they say uneven terrain they are not messing around. It was a good workout though and the view cannot even be described. It was amazing. At the end (or at least the end of as far as we were going) there was a secluded beach where we had a cliff bar and chilled out.

When we hiked back we decided to check out the beach by where we parked. It too was in a little cove and the reef came right up to the shoreline. It was the PERFECT snorkel spot so we decided to come back the next day. The place where we rented the Kayaks also rented snorkel gear so we hit them up again and drove back up to the end of the road. I have never snorkeled before and, again, I am wary of the ocean but John REALLY wanted to. I get in the water and proceed to inhale a huge gulp of water which was quickly diverted to my stomach. UGH I almost quit right there but I'm glad I didn't. After getting used to all the fish that would swim right up to us I felt pretty good out there. There were tons of angel fish and neon colored life swimming around the reef. Unfortunately that huge gulp of salt water started to make me feel ill so I sat on the beach after about an hour and John kept going. He said that he saw even more stuff out there including some massive angel fish.

We had the good sense to give ourselves a few days before heading back to work. I am just getting going after sleeping off the redeye flight. This is probably not the most eloquent account of our trip mostly because I just don't want to do anything but sit on the beach and read haha.

Registry

2009-08-29T09:11:00.001-07:00

Putting this back up at the top because it is what most people are asking us about.

Crate and Barrel
under Melissa Marriott or John Vassallo
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/Gift-Registry/Guest/ViewRegistry.aspx?grid=4295905

Bed Bath & Beyond
under Melissa Marriott or John Vassallo
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/regGiftRegistry.asp?order_num=-1&wrn=%2D1354382581&

Fires

2009-08-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

Here in lovely southern California we are blessed with some of the best Mediterranean climate in the world. John and I always say the easiest job on earth is weather girl for a Los Angeles news station. "Well, its going to be sunny and about 70 degrees for the next eight months".

Unfortunately what we lack in seasonal crappy weather, we make up for in wildfires. As if LA needed any extra junk in the air right? Well right now there are a four fires burning in the area, probably due to pyro kids or some jerk smoking on the golf course as usual.

Don't be alarmed. They are nowhere near us. Fortunately Santa Monica and LAX are right by the beach and thoroughly encased in concrete. The closest fires to us were the Malibu fires last year and they were easily 40 miles away.

Usually the wind blows most of the smoke up over the Santa Monica mountains and into the valley. Good for us ... bad for the valley. The only thing I would caution about is if you have asthma or something like that to bring any medication you might need in case the air quality adversly effects you.

If you are staying in the South Bay you might have a little more smoke to deal with as one of the fires is in Palos Verdes. If you choose to go to Hollywood or Downtown be prepared to smell like BBQ when you get back because one of the larger fires is in the Glendale/Pasadena area just north east of Hollywood and north of downtown. I think my parents are the only ones headed out east but please check the local fire updates if driving out to Riverside or Palm Springs because there is a fire burning right around Banning as well.

Here are a few sources of information.

http://www.fire.lacounty.gov/
http://cbs2.com/
http://cbs2.com/firewatch#socal_fires

Most of us won't venture beyond the westside though. So for us the only effect of the fires should be a pretty interesting view from our flights in and out of LAX and from the Delfina Ballroom at our reception.

Registry

2009-08-16T17:59:00.001-07:00

Hola!

I realize as the day gets closer a lot of you need our registry information. Probably best that I put this at the top of the blog so it is easy for you to find. Here you go! Thank you all for your generous gifts. Our little home is more put together by the day.

Crate and Barrel
under Melissa Marriott or John Vassallo
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/Gift-Registry/Guest/ViewRegistry.aspx?grid=4295905

Bed Bath & Beyond
under Melissa Marriott or John Vassallo
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/regGiftRegistry.asp?order_num=-1&wrn=%2D1354382581&

Exploring the local goods

2009-07-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

John and I have been exploring our hood lately. We fell into a rut where we would only go to the same three restaurants and order the same three things over and over. This is really a shame considering there are a million places to go within walking distance. Our top picks include the following....

http://www.orrisrestaurant.com/
Orris is a tapas joint on Sawtell that is kinda French and Asian fusion/kinda "How the heck did they come up with this?" For example one of the dishes was grilled romaine lettuce with shaved parmesan on top. Strange sounding but really good! We went there with Irene, Dave and Dave's brother the other night. I love tapas because I always want one bite of everything on the menu. Plus tapas is fun to have with a group of people.

http://www.qusqo.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/qusco-gallery-and-bistro-los-angeles
I think I was drawn to this place because I misread it as Queso which is cheese in Spanish LOL! After reading the blurb on the front of their menu "Qusqo" is a kind of language spoken by the descendants of the Incas in Peru. We quickly found that this restaurant leans towards rustic Peruvian dishes. They also attempt to be an art gallery but what they lack in artistic taste they make up for in their food. After eating so much Mexican food it was nice to have a different spin on Latin grub. For instance I had a tamale appetizer that instead of carnitas or cheese was filled with roasted peppers and hearts of palm. Good stuff. We also enjoyed the oldschool pre-Snow White Disney cartoons they projected on the wall. Be warned though, the lemonade is not free for refills, we won't be making that mistake again.

This is a dumb one but ....
http://www.yogurt-land.com/
I have been having serious cravings. If my dress fits tight I have this place to blame. I can't help it. They are 3 blocks away and open till 12:00am on weeknights and 1:00am on weekends. I don't understand why everyone has to sample every single flavor though. It takes us 20 times longer than it should to get through the line. But its worth it :)

One place we tried that didn't quite make the cut was ...
http://www.sawtellekitchen.com/
It was ok and actually at the time it was part of a perfect evening for us but the blend of Japanese and Italian was a little disjointed. We like being able to sit outside on a summer night though.

Meals

2009-07-21T08:22:00.001-07:00

My foodie bridesmaid Ryann would not take the description "Beef" or "Chicken" for an answer which made me realize I should probably put the whole menu on here for the rest of you to make your choices with. Sorry about that. We obviously couldn't fit all of this on the RSVP card.

First Course:

- Organic Mixed Greens Salad
(Farmers market vegetables, white balsamic vinaigrette)
- Dinner rolls and Fresh bread

Second Course:

- Telicherry Pepper Crusted Chicken
(Glazed russet potatoes, swiss chard and pomegranate glaze)
- Top Sirloin
(Cheddar-leek potato puree, haricots vert and madeira jus)
- Organic Grilled Vegetable Roulade
(Fire roasted tomato sauce)

Third Course:

- Spice Carrot Cake
(Buttercream frosting and cream cheese or pineapple mouse filling)

What's a Hotpocket?

2009-07-15T08:23:00.000-07:00

We kid we kid!!!!

As you may have seen there is a hotpocket option for our meal service. It amazes me that some of you have never experienced this culinary marvel of our grab-and-go society. For those who haven't let me explain ....

A hotpocket is really neither a pocket nor hot but claims to be both. It is a lard-based pastry containing a variety of mystery meat and punched-out vegetable shapes suspended in some kind of genetically enhanced dairy sauce which is then frozen and individually wrapped for consumption many years in the future after it is stored on some freezer shelf at Costco with 67 of its friends.

When one decides that real food just isn't good enough, the consumer unwraps this morsel of modern technology, inserts it into the provided "Crisper Sleeve", which is really just a piece of cardstock with holes in the side that spew out geysers of molten dairy sauce, and nuke it in the microwave for a few minutes. When the bell rings what you find is a mess of split-seam pastry and sauce that now has to be surgically removed from the paper sock it has bonded to. You must be careful though! Only take small bites because the edges are comparable to the surface of the sun and can burn the skin off the roof of your mouth. Just when you get beyond the outer lava ring you will find an equally unpleasant core of solid ice.

Clearly we would not subject you all to such torture. We were devising a plan to actually have the servers bring hotpockets to the tables for the smartasses who selected that option but we don't have any more time to plan it. Either way I hope you are entertained by our little sarcastic joke. I know were are! haha! John and I can never be accused of taking ourselves too seriously. :)

Recap

2009-07-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

Date:
September 5th 2009
Labor Day Weekend

Ceremony:
Time: 3:00 pm *sharp* (please arrive at 2:30)
Location: St. Monica's Parish
Address: 725 California Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90403
Ph: (310) 566-1500

Reception:
Time: 5:00 pm - 12:00 am (If you arrive early no worries, they will direct you to the Lobby bar)
Location: The Sheraton Delfina
Room: Penthouse Ballroom
Address: 530 Pico Boulevard Santa Monica, California 90405
Ph: (310) 399-9344

Flights:
To: LAX - Los Angeles International Airport
When: 9/4 arrival (one day early, flights are often delayed)

Hotels:
Sheraton Delfina (888) 627-8532
Seashore Motel (310) 392-2787
Lowes Santa Monica Beach Hotel (866) 563-9792
Shutters on the Beach (800) 334-9000

Registry:
Crate and Barrel - under Melissa Marriott or John Vassallo
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/Gift-Registry/Guest/ViewRegistry.aspx?grid=4295905
Bed Bath & Beyond - under Melissa Marriott or John Vassallo
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/regGiftRegistry.asp?order_num=-1&wrn=%2D1354382581&

What's another 20 hours?

2009-07-14T11:22:00.000-07:00

John and I have been working like crazy lately!

In addition to all the wedding craziness I got a promotion of sorts which has turned out to be way more of a workload increase than I thought it would be. I say "of sorts" because I'm not sure if I can call it a promotion. Usually when you get promoted they hand off the job you were doing and move you into something else right? Well in my case it is really a second job on top of what I was doing already. But such is life in a Bush-fallout economy. I am loving it though. More responsibility, new duties, learning lots, and loving it. I have been wanting to branch out more, professionally, for a while and this was a perfect opportunity for me to do so.

John is knee deep in Chipmunk land. He has been on overtime for a while now working on Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 ...... the Squeakquel ..... yes. hahaha He has been working late most nights and on Saturdays. So far he has avoided working Sundays but we aren't holding our breath that that will last. He's liking the project and they are giving him good shots though so at least he is enjoying it.

So yeah, between the two of us I think we are working about 115 hours a week. A little crazy but we are happy to have the work considering the state of the world lately. All I can say though ..... THANK GOD I didn't take a class this semester. I think I would die!

P.S. speaking of school, it turns out I did finish my degree. Just waiting for them to send it to me.

"Its in the Mail"

2009-07-13T09:09:00.001-07:00

After a weekend of bow-tieing I sent out a huge box full of invites today. Keep your eyes peeled for them. If you don't receive one in the next week and think you should have please let me know.

Many of you may be visiting this site for the first time after receiving your invite. We did not put registry information on the invites themselves in hopes that we could get you to check out our blog. This will be the same blog we will use after the wedding and we would love it if you continued to check in with us as the years progress.

So anyways ... here is your dangled carrot.

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/Gift-Registry/Guest/ViewRegistry.aspx?grid=4295905
Crate and Barrel - under Melissa Marriott or John Vassallo

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/regGiftRegistry.asp?order_num=-1&wrn=%2D1354382581&
Bed Bath & Beyond - under Melissa Marriott or John Vassallo

We are also more than happy to receive monitary gifts.... DUH haha :)

DIY destruction!

2009-06-12T15:17:00.000-07:00

I have converted our living room into a fulfillment facility! haha :)

There is an awful lot of dirt, spray paint, ceramics, and wire all over the place.

I won't go into any more details because I want it to be a surprise for some but just know that a lot of love has gone into a little something for each of our guests.

I've been having tooooooo much fun with this project and am so excited with how well it is turning out. GO ME!

My last final for a while.

2009-06-12T10:30:00.001-07:00

As some of you have heard I finished my last final on Wednesday. Hopefully I did OK. I'm sure I did but a little self doubt seems to keep me on my toes.

Some have asked if I have "graduated" from SMC then. Not exactly...

There are two paths or "tracks" to choose from at the junior college level. You can either fulfill all the requirements for an Associate of Arts degree or you can fulfill the requirements to transfer into whatever program you will enter at the university level. I chose the latter because if I went the AA rout I would end up taking a lot of classes that don't really pertain to my major and I have every intention of transferring to a 4 year school anyways. Plus an AA degree is really just a fancy high school diploma these days.

After this last class I have now fulfilled all the credit requirements to transfer to a UC school (UCLA, Berkley, UCSD, etc). If I go to a Cal State school I may have to take one more public speaking course to fulfill their requirements. Needless to say if I don't have to take that class I will avoid it like the plague.

No I have not applied to schools yet but considering I have a 4.0 GPA with no less than a 4.0 in every class I have taken, I have been on the dean's list every semester I've gone to SMC, I have been on the national dean's list as well, and I've done this while working full time .. not really worried about getting into a university.

My delay in applying to schools has been because of the wedding. I just don't have any more time to take on other projects so I've opted to attack the whole school application process after the wedding. Plus it takes money to apply to schools and mine has been spent on other things of late :)

Who knows where I will end up going especially if John and I move away for a little while. But wherever I go it will be an exciting change that I am definitely ready for.

PROGRESS!

Tux

2009-05-10T16:39:00.001-07:00

Mission accomplished. The tux order has been placed. Woo!

We went to The Mens Warehouse today and finalized everything after doing a little shopping around. The Mens Warehouse wasn't exactly the greatest place ever but after being shown a mix-matched tux with coffee stains that had to have been dry cleaned a million times at another place we realize the MW really wasn't too bad. They certainly had better quality for the money than that other place and it will just be easiest for those who need to order from out of town.

The order is placed under John's name and I will post the group number later this week when they send it to us. Groomsmen and Dads can go to any Mens Warehouse to get measured. The pick up date is about 2 days before the event. You have the option to pick them up at the location here in Santa Monica or you can pick yours up in your home city. After the wedding you can return them here or in your home city. I suggest pick up in Santa Monica and return in Santa Monica if you are an out of towner. Just easier and you won't have to risk your tux to the craziness of airport travel.

Can't wait to see all you guys suited and booted! :)

To smoke or not to smoke?

2009-05-10T16:29:00.000-07:00

The answer would be "no".

We met with the hotel again this last week which was really fun. I love going over there to see the space. It makes me all excited every time I see it.

A few people were wondering if there was a smoking area or a place to indulge in a celebratory cigar at the reception location. Unfortunately Santa Monica is a very smoke-free area. There is a city ordinance which makes it illegal to smoke within 25 feet of a public building. Due to this there is a smoking area but it is down 10 floors, all the way outside of the hotel, and in some back alley a million miles away from the ballroom.

My apologies to all the smokers. As you can imagine, being an ex-smoker who occasionally cracks under old habits, I am personally grateful for this policy but I do wish we could accommodate those who wished to share a smoke later in the evening.

P.S. Smoking anything else *ahem* on the hotel grounds could get our event shut down. Doubtful you would want to be "that guy" sorry.

Registry & Honeymoon

2009-04-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

We finished our registering last weekend. We are registered at Crate & Barrel, Bed Bath & Beyond and our collective wallet haha (aka checks accepted). How rude am I huh? LOL! We tried to put together something on amazon.com too but shopping on there was a little too cumbersome and time consuming. Both of the Bed Bath & Beyond and the Crate & Barrel registries are under both of our names. In case you aren't sure on the spelling here you go ...

Melissa Marriott
John Vassallo

Last week I booked the final details for our honeymoon as well! Thanks to the generosity of my boss Memo we are going to be staying at the Outrigger Waipouli Beach Resort & Spa on the Hawaiian island of Kauai for a week. SO EXCITED!!!! Hawaii may indeed be a "typical honeymoon spot" but neither of us have ever been and we both have been wanting to visit for a while now. We wouldn't be able to take a honeymoon at all without Memo's contribution, the accumulation of frequent flyer miles I racked up over the 9 years I have lived away from my family and the supplemental batch of frequent flyer miles my dad donated to our cause. 1,000,000 thanks to Memo and my Dad for making this possible for us. We shall toast to you from our ocean view balcony while detoxing from the wedding :)

Rehearsal

2009-04-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

I just got the confirmation today. Our rehearsal will start at 6:00pm on September 4th at the church. All bridesmaids, groomsmen, parents, musicians, readers, etc etc will need to arrive at the church around 5:30, not 6:00. They only give us an hour so it will be over and done by 7:00. Then dinner, by that time we should be good and hungry!

If you are from out of town and do not plan on renting a car no worries, we can arrange some kind of Marriott-Vassallo taxi service to and from the rehearsal for you. :)

Map

2009-04-08T12:35:00.001-07:00

Here is a map and directions from the ceremony site (Start) to the reception site (End). It takes you on a little loop towards the end because you can't take a left mid-block in front of the hotel.

Start:
725 California Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90403

1. Head northeast on California Ave toward Lincoln Blvd 279 ft
2. Turn right at Lincoln Blvd 1.1 mi
3. Turn right at Pico Blvd 0.3 mi
4. Turn left at 4th St 358 ft
5. Turn right at Bay St 364 ft
6. Turn right at 3rd St 371 ft
7. Turn right at Pico Blvd 0.2 mi

End:

530 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405

Recap

2009-04-08T10:08:00.000-07:00

Date
September 5th 2009
Labor Day Weekend

Ceremony
Ceremony Time: 3:00 pm *sharp* (please arrive at 2:30)
Location: St. Monica's Parish
Address: 725 California Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90403
Ph: (310) 566-1500

Reception
Reception Time: 5:00 pm - 12:00 am
Location: The Sheraton Delfina
Room: Penthouse Ballroom
Address: 530 Pico Boulevard Santa Monica, California 90405
Ph: (310) 399-9344

Flights
To: LAX Los Angeles International Airport
When: 9/4 arrival (one day early, flights are often delayed)

Hotels
Sheraton Delfina (888) 627-8532
Seashore Motel (310) 392-2787
Lowes Santa Monica Beach Hotel (866) 563-9792
Shutters on the Beach (800) 334-9000

Colors

Flights from the D

2009-03-16T09:09:00.000-07:00

I did a little poking around on Orbitz.com, Travelocity.com, Priceline.com, etc today. It looks like there are quite a few flights from Detroit to LA for less than $300 round trip. Not that $300 is chump change, but having flown to Detroit a few times now I can say this is way better than what we have spent in the past.

It looks like Travelocity has the best prices. Theirs are around $250. Most of the flights are on US Airways. I checked pricing through the US Airways site but to buy that way is more expensive so I would go with a Travelocity instead.

I hope this helps some of you!

Registry #1

2009-03-09T09:48:00.000-07:00

At the risk of sounding completely tacky I must note that John and I would love nothing more than a pile of checks for wedding gifts considering we are saving for a house but we realize that is a bit impersonal and a lot of people won't feel comfortable giving money. Knowing this we started registering for gifts this weekend....

You can find it here
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/Gift-Registry/Guest/ViewRegistry.aspx?grid=4295905
or just go to www.crateandbarrel.com click on gift registry up at the top, then type in my name "Melissa Marriott" or "John Vassallo" and it will bring up our registry. You can purchase online or at any of their stores. They will ship directly to us which is good for all you out of towners. We will also be registering elsewhere TBD.

We actually had a really awesome day on Sunday. First we woke up late and got lost in east LA trying to find our florists' location. Kacey drove me last time so I was all turned around. Once we got there he had our centerpiece sample ready. We made a few small changes, signed all the contracts and gave him the deposit. *dusts off hands* One more thing off the list!

After the florist we decided to head over to Pasadena as we were already over by Dodger Stadium. We had an awesome lunch at an Italian Bistro on Colorado St. called Mi Piace http://www.mipiace.com/.

With food in our bellies we were ready to knock another to-do off the list. We headed over to Crate and Barrel down the street to create our first registry. I can only speak for myself because I don't think John fully understood the concept or really wanted to ponder over the perfect wine flute but I had a friggin blast. I was running around that place with the scanner like a 12 year old boy at a laser tag arena. Later once we got home I deleted some of the items because I realized I don't really need every size of wooden spoon they had. haha!

After that John bought a pair of shoes and we got some of the best Italian ice cream ever! To quote Ice Cube - hell yeah it was a good day. We made some progress on the wedding front this weekend and made a really nice afternoon out of it.

Engagement Photos!!

2009-03-02T22:30:00.000-08:00

Hey! Here are some of the results of the photo session we had last week with our wedding photographers Mark and Candice. They did a great job! Here they are. The locations are a rooftop in downtown LA and the Los Angeles Contemporary Art Museum. Enjoy! .

Cheap flights from Seattle to LA

2009-03-02T12:59:00.000-08:00

Hola!

Frugal Fairy here with another deal I found thanks to my wonderful aunt Sheryl. :)

Flights on Virgin America Airlines from Seattle to LA for the weekend of our wedding are $79.00.

http://www.virginamerica.com

Not too shabby. Plus Virgin has cool planes with built in TV's and generally have their act together. John and I have flown every airline under the sun and sofar we like Virgin the best.

Famous people like St. Monica's too.

2009-02-26T23:23:00.001-08:00

Here's a little bit of trivia for you. Apparently Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and hottest woman in the known universe Giselle Bundchen were married at St. Monica's this evening, the same church we will be married at.

http://www.usmagazine.com/news/gisele-bundchen-and-tom-brady-wed-2009262

Other notable parishioners include our governator AAAAAhhhhhrnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver, Tony Danza, Martin Sheen, Brooke Sheilds, Kelsey Grammar, Lawrence Welk, Richard Riordan, June Lockhart, and Bridget Moynahan. Frank Gerhy's wife attends (Frank is Jewish but she is catholic). Frank Gerhy designed the parish hall in 1998. Chris Farley was a parishioner and his memorial was held at St. Monica's. Lucille Ball's memorial was held there as well. Lucy Lawless was married at St. Monica's. Owen Wilson visited St. Monica's before attempting suicide (yikes).

The church has also been used for filming. Some of the list includes 1944 Best Picture winner "Going My Way", and its sequel "The Bells of St. Mary's".

The parish was founded in 1886 and predates the city of Santa Monica. The closest catholic church at the time was on Olvera street in downtown LA. The current building was built in 1925 and has been repaired after damage during the Northridge earthquake.

WEEEEEIIIIIIIRRRRRDDDDDD

2009-02-25T16:36:00.000-08:00

After 4+ years of going there every week after work it just hit me that this will be my last semester at Santa Monica College. Awwwwww. I have to say it will be a little weird not to go there anymore. I am certainly ready to move on to a bigger and more "adult" university but nevertheless I will miss SMC. It really has been a great school for me to casually figure out what interests me. Plus my arsenal of useless factoids has expanded ten fold. ;)

Hotel Deal

2009-02-25T15:47:00.001-08:00

For anyone looking to stay in the lap of luxury while they are in our area you might take a look at the attached. I received this today from Shutters on the Beach. It was the swankiest hotel on my previous list. They are located about a half mile from our reception venue. Now, granted, $475 per night isn't exactly cheap but if you are going that route you might as well take advantage of the offer and get another night free.

http://view.guest-touch.com/?j=fe641572776603757717&m=fefa1d72746c05&ls=fdea17747c62077b71127976&l=fe9510747663037c75&s=fe3110707366077a731571&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe571c7374610c7a7d14

Stay Two Nights and Get the Third Night Free!

Sand and sea are calling. Take advantage of this great offer!

Experience the epitome of beachfront living by designer Michael S. Smith. Extend your stay on us. Book two consecutive nights at this special rate and receive the third night complimentary. Prices starting at $475 per night plus tax.

Book Now

Single/double occupancy. Complimentary third night must be used in conjunction with the initial stay. Cannot be combined with other packages or rates.

Please visit our sister properties Hotel Casa Del Mar and Canary Hotel for the latest on their Specials & Packages as well.

Florist .... CHECK

2009-02-17T16:48:00.000-08:00

One less thing to do ... love it!

I booked our florist today. Partially because I just have no desire to keep looking and also because this guy and I hit it off in our first meeting. Plus the price was right which is always a plus.

http://www.myweddingblooms.com/

It must be the Seattle in me ...

2009-02-09T09:40:00.000-08:00

We were rained out of our engagement photo session. Well, sort of. It was rescheduled for two weeks from now due to the threat of rain. Naturally we would pick the one weekend a year it rains in this town. DOH! Ask me why the wedding and reception are indoors... oh nature, you and Murphy must be good friends.

Recap

2009-02-06T09:56:00.001-08:00

I will put up recaps periodically so you don't have to scroll through the entire blog for basic details. Aren't I efficient? :)

Date
September 5th 2009
Labor Day Weekend

Ceremony
Time: 3:00 pm *sharp* (please arrive at 2:30)
Location: St. Monica's Parish
Address: 725 California Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90403
Ph: (310) 566-1500

Reception
Time: 5:00 pm - 12:00 am
Location: The Sheraton Delfina
Room: Penthouse Ballroom
Address: 530 Pico Boulevard Santa Monica, California 90405
Ph: (310) 399-9344

Flights
To: LAX Los Angeles International Airport
When: 9/4 arrival (one day early, flights are often delayed)

Hotels
Sheraton Delfina (888) 627-8532
Seashore Motel (310) 392-2787
Lowes Santa Monica Beach Hotel (866) 563-9792
Shutters on the Beach (800) 334-9000

Colors

Hotels

2009-02-06T09:23:00.000-08:00

I am working on group rates for hotels in the area but the quotes I have received sofar have been either 1. not that great and/or 2. have some funky policies with regard to reservations that become a little risky for us. I do want to help you all with your hotel searches however, so here is a list of some we would recommend. They are all within walking distance to the beach or a $5-$10 maximum cab ride from the reception.

Sheraton Delfina Santa Monica
530 Pico Boulevard
Santa Monica, California 90405
Reservations 888 627 8532
T 310 399 9344
F 310 399 2504
http://www.sheratonsantamonica.com/
- This is where the wedding reception will be.
- This is where we will be staying.
- pool and killer views
- some rooms have balcony hot tubs
- about a 5 minute walk to the beach, about 8 blocks or so
- Pricing middle-of-the-road (but that's by Santa Monica standards)

Seashore Motel
2637 Main Street
Santa Monica, California 90405
Phone: (310) 392-2787
Fax: (310) 392-5167
Email: reservations@seashoremotel.com
http://www.seashoremotel.com/
- don't let the name fool you its actually very cute
- very affordable, best rates in Santa Monica by FAR
- this is where our parents will be staying and it will book up fast
- no pool
- right on Main Street in Santa Monica, walking distance to bars, restaurants, shopping, etc
- 3 blocks to the beach

Shutters on the Beach
One Pico Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Ph: 310-458-0030
Fx: 310-458-4589
Reservations: 800-334-9000
http://www.shuttersonthebeach.com/home.html
- VERY swanky, old Santa Monica bungalow vibe
- also very expensive
- pool, rooftop deck, spa
- 5 steps to the beach
- excellent food & decor

Lowes Santa Monica Beach Hotel
1700 Ocean Avenue
Santa Monica, California, 90401
Reservations: 1-866-LOEWS-WB or (1-866-563-9792)
Main/General Inquiries: (310)-458-6700
http://www.santamonicaloewshotel.com/
- this was #2 on our list for the wedding reception
- very nice, and modern
- not quite as expensive as Shutters but slightly more expensive than the Sheraton Delfina
- Pool, great food, view of the beach, spa
- one block from the beach, 3 blocks from Santa Monica Pier
- 5 minute walk to 3rd Street Promenade, restaurants, bars, shopping, etc

Keep in mind... if you get shnockered at the wedding (and I hope you do) we please insist that you crash at the hotel. We will figure it out for you and may have some rooms on hold for just this situation. No DUI buzzkills on our wedding day please! :) We want everyone to have the most fun they can in the safest way possible!

The Wedding Party

2009-02-04T11:50:00.001-08:00

Introducing the dirty dozen (if you count John and I). Danger Flammable!

Landra Dulin - Maid of Dishonor, world traveler, burning woman and sister by another mister.

Kacey Karp - Roller-Bridesmaid, the muscle of the operation, head bodyguard and B52 Wingman.

Kristy Snape - Always the bridesmaid and bride at the same time! My cohort in planning and sounding board for all things wedding.

Ryann Crofoot - Dance instructor bridesmaid, style icon, dark room wiggler and queen of being badass.

Adine Lee - Bridesmaid and counselor of cute, representing the girly side and keeping it fun when the shit's flyin'.

Mark Vassallo - Best man... ever. Comedic relief, the musical speech-giver, reptile whisperer and acrobatic ninja.

Dave Paine - Groomsman, Dj, shark swimmer, the other half to John's epic battle on the court and lover of all things Philly.

Andrew Marriott - Groomsman, the red haired bandit, Seattle rep, digital pinball wizard and he who is in desperate need of a new online photo.

Paul Rojas - Groomsman, Dj, encyclopedia of hip hop, go-to-guy, everything-man. We give him a pass for being a Lakers fan because he's that cool.

Brian Singbiel - Red carpet groomsman, film clipper, movie maker. He has BIG friends, watch out!

Save the Dates

2009-02-04T09:12:00.001-08:00

Hola Peeps!

I am guessing that there will be a bit more traffic through here now that we have sent out some of our save-the-dates. If you have not received yours yet don't sweat it, we still have a few more to go. I have my final next week, a semester project due on Thursday, and we are having our engagement photo session this Sunday so its a wonder I was able to send any of them out amongst all the other things going on.

Here is a copy of what they look like. You love it ... you know you do haha. The photos are old photo booth pics we have saved from various nights on the town. Some of them are from a few years ago while others are from a few months ago. That's why some strips look older than others. Same general goofiness though, doubtful that will ever change. ;)

I am stoked I was able to use my work for something. As you may have noticed they are magnets. I have a talent for losing mail so I figured I would do everyone a favor and create something that wouldn't get lost easily. If you lose it anyways just let me know. I have a ton of over runs and can send you another one. We will be sending out actual invitations in the coming months as well.

Photographer

2009-01-02T12:50:00.000-08:00

This is pretty old news but worth adding to our list of details.

Aside from selecting the church, our photographer was one of the first things we were able to nail down. This came about through an otherwise useless afternoon at one of those cheesy bridal expos at the LA convention center. John spent the whole time trolling the room for free cake samples while I beat off salespeople with a stick. The only booth were we saw anything of interest was the one for Mark Brooke photography. I wasn't really there to pick a photographer but their work totally caught our attention.

We quickly made an appointment to meet with them. They are a husband and wife team who live in orange county and are some of the sweetest people we have met. Their names are Mark and Candice. I have attached their website for your viewing pleasure. With John being an artist, we really needed someone with an artistic eye to capture our day. No 80's prom photography. As you can see from their site (which runs a little slow sometimes) their style is much more photo-journalistic than the average photographers and they do a lot of interesting in lens effects. They weren't cheap but worth every penny.

Don't worry mom we will get some normal line-up-and-smile shots too ;)

http://www.markbrooke.net/

Colors!

2008-12-30T11:18:00.001-08:00

We have finally chosen our colors. Wheeeew!

There was a lot of back-and-forth over this mostly due to my indecision and an attempt to avoid mimicking any of the other 200 weddings we are attending around the same time. So after much deliberation here you go...

Lime Green

Light Blue

Khaki/Cream

Dark Chocolate Brown

Fresh cheerful summer colors that fit with our reception venue decor!

Ok ... on to the next thing. :)

Christmas in Michigan

2008-12-29T22:30:00.000-08:00

Melissa and I just got back from our week long trip to the frozen midwest. We had a great time hanging out with my family. We had a full schedule of things to do. We went to The Henry Ford Museum to see a bunch of historic cars, trains and other artifacts like the rocking chair Lincoln was assassinated in. We saw a Piston game from a suite in the Palace thanks to my good friend Ryan Pretzer. We had Christmas Eve dinner with the Garity side of my family at my uncle Phil's house. There were even some movies and a trip to Greektown thrown in there too! It was a great trip and we were so thankful for all the hospitality and the good times we got to share with everyone. We are looking forward to 2009 and wish everybody a happy and healthy holiday season!

Another day another auto.

2008-11-12T22:01:00.000-08:00

I haven't put up a post in a while. Tooooooo much stuff going on. As some of you know I was the bologna in a car sandwich last month. One of those situations where the person in front of me slammed on her brakes, I screeech to a hault but the guy behind me didn't react in time to avoid hitting me which slammed me into her. Add that drama to the fact that no one in the accident but me spoke English, I felt like I had joined the circus in the middle of Santa Monica Blvd. She looked fine at the time but my little Elantra was totaled, I couldn't believe it. Cleaning her out was like attending a wake. I loved that crappy little car and I had JUST paid it off last March. All is well that ends well though, I was found innocent of any blame in the whole mess and I used the settlement check to buy the car I really wanted when I bought my Elantra but couldn't afford at the time. Here is my new baby (see pic). Its a 2007 Honda Accord SE. No sunroof and its silver again but what can you do? She only has 8000 miles on her and still smells new. I find myself stopping five car lengths behind people and always watching what the guy behind me is doing because #1 I am still jumpy from the accident and #2 I don't want anyone to come within a mile of my pristine paint. John was great through the whole process and really kept me from losing it a few times.

Bummer!!!!

2008-10-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

After fighting with Royal Caribbean's lost and found for the last two months I am sad to say that my wonderful Cannon powershot has been lost forever. *moment of silence* Unfortunately this also contained all of our photos from Mazatlan. We will try to load some of the ones from John's camera this week. We should have some left from Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas.

FOCUS

2008-10-02T12:56:00.000-07:00

There are a bunch of different things you have to do to get married in a catholic church. Seeing as how it is a sacrament, the preparation goes beyond just signing up for a date and paying them money. One of the things we have done so far was taking the FOCUS test. This is basically a bunch of questions about your relationship which you answer with Agree, Disagree, or Undecided. Shortly after finishing the test we both came to the conclusion that we must communicate better than most people because the majority of questions seemed awfully basic to us.

I am happy to report that my perfect record of A's is still in effect as we scored 92% overall. We would have done better but John didn't know what the phrase "Family Planning" meant. hahahaha he's so cute :)

Venue .... check!

2008-09-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

Over the last few months we have visited numerous reception sites and called or emailed every venue within 30 miles of the church. My files are spilling over with quotes and I feel like we have just run the gauntlet!! But after what seems like an eternity we have secured our venue for the wedding!!!

We will be having our reception at 5:00 in the penthouse ballroom of the Sheraton Delfina in Santa Monica. They have been very helpful and cut us a hell of a deal. The view from the ballroom is amazing. You can see up and down the coast from Palos Verdes to Malibu. Not to mention it is about 7 blocks from the church so none of you out of towners will get lost on the way there.

I can't even tell you how happy I am right now. Now I'm taking a month off from wedding stuff haha. ;)

The Date Has Been Set! September 5th 2009

2008-09-14T17:08:00.000-07:00

We met with monsignor at St. Monica's parish for the first time on Friday. We attended one of their marriage introductory meetings a while back but this was the first time we had actually met with him one-on-two. He is a wonderful man. John put it perfectly when he said "he reminds me that there are still good people in the world". Rarely do I see someone so well suited for their role in life. He is so friendly, willing to help anyone at any time and makes you really feel like a part of the family. That is why I love our parish. My hope is that our guests who are not religious or members of other faiths will feel this as well because we all really are a part of one family.

At that meeting we set our date for Saturday September 5th 2009. The ceremony will be at St. Monica's parish at 3:00pm. http://www.stmonica.net/

This is the Saturday during Labor Day Weekend. We chose this long weekend for a few reasons. For one thing, we have two people in our wedding party who are directly effected by school starting after Labor Day. One of whom is John's brother Mark, who not only needs to fly from Michigan to LA but also has to drive from the upper peninsula (aka Siberia) to Detroit to catch his flight which is a day of driving each way.

Unfortunately prices for flights and hotels may be a little higher due to the holiday but we think our out of town guests will benefit from having the extra day to travel. Not to worry, we will be researching group accommodations at a few hotels and packaged travel fares for everyone. Our local guests will also have an additional day to enjoy their weekend without wedding craziness or just detox from the bar at our reception ;).

All in all I hope our choice of this date will prove a wise one and a good excuse for a mini-vacation or extended celebration for all. I am sure there will be plenty of fun things to do in the area that weekend. We will come up with some fun post-wedding activities which should make for even more memories to take home.

Bonus: We will have Labor Day weekend to celebrate our anniversary every year!!!

I win I win!!!

2008-09-14T16:40:00.000-07:00

Below is a synopsis of our engagement. I posted this on my myspace account a while back and thought it would be appropriate to repost here. Enjoy!

*******

So (obviously) I had the best week EVAAAR last week. We just got back from Seattle late on Sunday night and I really haven't had a moment to write. Well I could have but I was much more interested in enjoying family time with my new fiance' than typing blogs on the internet. Sorry to those whose messages I haven't replied to, didn't see while I was up there, phone calls I haven't returned, etc etc ... I was enjoying one of life's happier times and soaking it all in :)

So anyways, in case you haven't heard the synopsis... here-goes...

As I am sure the majority of people know, John and I have been talking about getting married for some time. Its always been the plan but the time line hadn't been set yet.

About 6 months ago he took me to a B&B in Santa Barbara for the weekend. I was SURE this was it. I mean c'mon, Victorian Bed & Breakfast in one of the more beautiful spots in Cali? I was so sure of it I even told a bunch of my work buddies and friends how sure I was that he was going to propose. Yeah well I came back to LA that Monday ringless and without the need to think about when it was going to happen anymore. I decided that while I knew it was going to happen, trying to figure out WHEN it was going to happen was a waste of my time and would just turn me into "that girl".

I soon came to realize that the sneaky bitch was trying to keep me guessing. Over the next few months I was taken out on a few "get dressed up I'm taking you somewhere nice" dinners. Shit, works for me right? I'll milk this game for some food hahaha ;) I knew what was up and wasn't about to assume that any of these dinners could be "the night" but it was fun for us and we were able to have some really good times exploring LA a little. Top pick: The Little Door in Hollywood. MMmmmmmmmmm

So mother's day rolls around and I guess I was sleeping in or napping or something normal like that. John called my dad to ask him for his blessing. THAT'S MY BOY!!!! Even though I spent the better part of my adolescence telling my parents that I didn't need their blessing for anything (most of the time what I was doing wouldn't have been blessed anyways) I am still an old schooly at heart. It really meant a lot to me that John asked him. Silly tradition or not I think it is quite gentlemanly and .... well .... hot. Plus it thrilled my mom on Mother's day no doubt.

Fast forward a month or so. We had booked a vacation to visit my parents for the week they had their time share at Kala Point (near Port Townsend WA). Too bad my dumbass booked the flight right in the middle of finals week for my school. Apparently John had already been planning on proposing to me that week but I had to re-arrange everything for the next week, my parents couldn't move their time share week so we ended up booking a condo on Orcas Island for a few days the next week instead.

Blah blah flights changed, plans changed, everything changed because of my stupid school but I was happy because now we were going to Orcas Island which is a very special place to me. When I was a kid my parents used to rent a cabin on Orcas every summer. My grandparents always rented the next cabin over and fishing with my grandpa at the lakes on Orcas is still one of my favorite memories of growing up. Its an almost mythical place for me because of all the happy childhood memories I have from that Island.

We get there and I am detoxing from work. The weather is beautiful which is just weird because they are having one of their worst June's to date up there right now. They have termed it "Juneuary". We spent a day farting around and the next day we decided to go for a hike around some of the lakes I used to fish at with my grandpa. All the while my mom is telling a million stories about what our family did there some of which happened when she was a kid. I almost forgot how beautiful the forest in Seattle was. Its SO GREEN. Like wizard of OZ green. The hike we went on curved around the side of mountain lake and did a figure 8 around twin lakes. It was so awesome to be out in nature (a far cry from the concrete jungle we live in) overlooking a lake, smelling the fresh air and enjoying the good weather which just made everything look even more green and awesome.

We come around a bend and there's a cliff overlooking mountain lake. It was probably 30 feet above the lake, framed by trees and the morning light was hitting the lake behind us. I take a few pictures of John...

(This photo was taken about 2 minutes before he asked me. He looks like he's about to puke doesn't he?)

..He tells my family that he wants to take an HDRI photo and that we would catch up with them. I did think it odd that my parents didn't hang around but I was enjoying the scenery too much to care. Apparently my brother knew what John's signal meant because instead of letting my parents lurk in the bushes (which would have given it away) he grabbed both of them and hit the trail for a good 200 yards. THANK YOU!

John is messing around with the camera and I am getting impatient..as usual. I think he noticed I was getting annoyed and started rushing to get the ring out and the camera set up. I am looking the other direction, turn around, he says my name and gets down on one knee. I think my heart fell into my shoe. I was frozen stiff with my hands in my pockets (I was wearing my pajamas and the sweatshirt I have kept since high school .... hot). All that came out of my mouth was "Oh OOOOOOOOOOoooH".

The next 3 minutes I am keeping for us (yeah burn I know) but he did say afterward that he had a speech prepared which was thrown out the window because he was lost in the moment. I thought that was pretty cute. In fact he has never been cuter. It was very emotional and we took a good 10-15 minutes to ourselves on that cliff just soaking it all in and hanging on to each other. Then we floated down the trail with me saying "I WIN I WIN" to my family who was waiting down the way.

I have to say the boy REALLY did his homework and put a lot of thought into what, where and with who this moment would be most special to me. Orcas Island on a trail my Aunt built, overlooking a lake I used to fish on with my grandpa, hiking in the beautiful forest I grew up in with my brother and parents was so sentimental and cool I couldn't have thought of any better if I tried. I was totally surprised and flabbergasted by the whole thing. I was so taken off guard in fact I put the ring on my own finger. I think my brain said "yes, cry, ring, cliff, finger, hug, cry more" hahaha. I apologized to him a few times for snatching it up and not letting him put it on me.

Its funny because I had rehearsed that moment so many times in my head and when the time came nothing happened the way I thought it would .... it was BETTER.

*******

Our Story Starts Here

2008-09-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

This is where our story begins - the moment that I asked Melissa to marry me. It was June 6th, 2008 on Orcas Island, Washington. I told her that I was going to take a picture of us together. She had no idea that the picture was going to turn out the way it did. As we move forward with our wedding plans and our lives together, we invite our friends and family to follow our story in this blog. Even though many of them live far away, we still want them to be part of our journey. We will be posting dates times addresses and other relevant information about the wedding and our lives as they happen. So stay tuned and enjoy!

Vassallo Family Blog

To New Zealand we go ...

Overdue post

I got a Jobby Job!

Melly vs. Nature

Happier Posts

Long time no type

New pics

Ok NOW it has hit me

Photos on Facebook

Strange Cultural Differences: Part 1

We have ARRIVED!

Now for something completely different

Hallo-wheaties

Sneak Peek ... wedding photos!

Honeymoon

Registry

Fires

Registry

Exploring the local goods

Meals

What's a Hotpocket?

Recap

What's another 20 hours?

"Its in the Mail"

DIY destruction!

My last final for a while.

Tux

To smoke or not to smoke?

Registry & Honeymoon

Rehearsal

Map

Recap

Flights from the D

Registry #1

Engagement Photos!!

Cheap flights from Seattle to LA

Famous people like St. Monica's too.

WEEEEEIIIIIIIRRRRRDDDDDD

Hotel Deal

Florist .... CHECK

It must be the Seattle in me ...

Recap

Hotels

The Wedding Party

Save the Dates

Photographer

Colors!

Christmas in Michigan

Another day another auto.

Bummer!!!!

FOCUS

Venue .... check!

The Date Has Been Set! *September 5th 2009*

I win I win!!!

Our Story Starts Here

The Date Has Been Set! September 5th 2009