Birthday Princess and a Frog

Although this is a post mostly about Disney related things…. Happy Birthday Janelle! My roomie and BFF turned 27 December 10th. There are no pictures of a cake because she only wanted a cupcake from Sweet Lady Jane’s on Melrose. In classic Krysta and Janelle style, she had a themed party: Princess and the Frog. Although the movie hadn’t technically been released yet, I was able to find a few decorations.


For her birthday celebration, she decided to have lunch at Tam O’Shanter Inn. She got the idea by watching the extra features on Cinderella. This restaurant was one of Walt Disney’s favorite. He and the Nine Old Men would dine there frequently because of it’s close proximity to the studios. The restaurant itself looks like it could be a Snow White cottage. The food was fantastic and the waiters wear plaid! It is actually owned by Lawry’s (the season salt company) and is the oldest restaurant operated by the same family in the same location in Los Angeles. The staff was smart and sat us close to the table Walt Disney sat at. We couldn’t all fit, otherwise they would have sat us there.








After our delicious lunch, Nathan, Domonique, Janelle and I headed over to the Disney Studios. Normally, when a new Disney movie is released, they have a special event over at the El Capitan Theatre. However, because of the Christmas Carol running at the same time, The Princess and the Frog was given a special engagement at the Disney Studios. They started the event two weeks before it was released nationwide. It sold out so fast, we were only able to get tickets the day before it’s release. Which also happened to be Janelle’s birthday! So, for her birthday, we saw the Princess and the Frog =) They opened the studio theatre, where we watched the movie, then converted one of the sound stages in to an event much like Enchanted’s Experience. They had costumes and props, games, cupcakes, merchandise, and of course, all the princesses! Including the new addition to the princess club, Miss Tiana herself. After we worked our way around the set, we went on a tour of the Disney Studios. Although I have been to the studios many times, it was fun to learn new facts.












The movie was amazing. We laughed, we cried, we clapped… we pretty much went through every emotion. The animators have been holding their breath on this one. They went out on a limb making an animated film without CGI. They hoped that there were still people in the world who missed the traditional Disney animated films. Although I love Pixar and all the fantastic movies they make with Disney, it was so nice to see a classic animated musical film. So go see it to support 2D animation!

Following our Disney Studios event, we headed down to Anaheim to go to….. you guessed it, Disneyland! Unlike most trips, however, we only ate and shopped! Now that's what I call a happy birthday!

AZ: Rent and New Car

So, you know when I was hit? Did I mention I as heading to Arizona? Right. Although it caused me to miss out on visiting a lot of people, I did make it to Summer's show and Janelle's Mom's wedding!

Our dear friend, Scottie, was going to ride to Arizona with Janelle and I so that he too could attend her Mom's wedding. Well, he ended up having to rescue us, thank goodness!! Three or four hours behind schedule, I just barley made it to Summer's musical. I'm talking minutes people! Tiffany printed my ticket, found seats, met me out where my sister dropped me off and literally ran me inside. Moments later, the lights went out and the show began. Whew. I almost lost out on seeing the best performance ever... and money =p Summer.was.hot! That's all we could say after the show. Has anyone else seen RENT? Summer was Mimi! She rocked that role like she really was a stripper/druggie/Aids victim haha. If you did not attend, you missed out. The show was amazing. We laughed, we cried, we clapped... it was phenomenal. Kudos to Philip, Summer, and Sara! And everyone else I don't know who was in it! It was amazing =)

Day 2, totally sore from whip lash and all, Janelle walked herself down the aisle. There may not have been crazy dancing, but we were there! Congratulations to Georgia and Anthony who tied the knot on November 14th! The picture of Scottie and I was his idea- we're supposed to look like Stepford Wife/Top Gun couple. What do you think?! The reception was so fun, thanks to Justine and Kato (Janelle's siblings) who provided the entertainment. They are amazing dancers, even when they are just playing around. It was really nice to see both Domonique and Janelle's families again. Other than when they visit us in CA, I don't get to see them often. Unfortunately, Domonique had to work and did not get to join us. Her sister, Candace, however, relished in the idea that she stole us from Domonique for a night!

This is Katie's baby, Robert. He is such a ham and so adorable! I can't help but post a picture of his cuteness...






AZ trip number two, titled "New car trip", was the weekend we were supposed to celebrate our Anniversary. However, our rental coverage was cut off regardless of the fact that I hadn't even seen a total loss check! Luckily, I convinced them to overnight me a check due to a discrepancy, so we were able to at least have money for a down payment. ::Rolling eyes:: I decided, thanks to Greg's help, that I wanted to buy a Toyota Corolla- used. I found virtually none here in CA for sale, but quite a few in AZ. Not to mention I'm much more comfortable driving around AZ buying cars than here. So we flew out on a one way ticket, knowing we HAD TO BUY A CAR to come back home. I really wanted to buy a 2008 red Corolla S. I ended up with a 2009 dark gray Corolla LE. After a dozen stops, we ended up buying the car all the way out in Superstition Springs at a Honda dealership. The salesmen let me take a picture with a bow on the car =) He said, "I think she's more excited about the bow than the car!" Listen to this: the car was purchased in L.A., traded in in AZ, and now going back to L.A! Luckily, it was about 4pm by the time we finished on Saturday, so we were able to enjoy the night with dinner (with my Dad, Sue, and sister) and a movie (with Steven). Who says you can't buy a car in one day??!

The next day, we went out to Sky Harbor Air National Guard to see the family day my Dad cooked up for the troops families. He had snow brought in, craft tables, sugar cookies to frost, and pictures with Santa. Good job Chief Klassen!

Anyway, for all you lovely people I missed out on visiting... I now have car and will visit AZ again soon!

2 Year Wedding Anniversary

December 1st, Jan-Michael and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary. Wow how time flies! I had planned a surprise, fantastic celebration (which I still plan to use and therefore am not spilling what it was). However, we had to cancel due to various reasons directly related to the accident. So, we had dinner at Olive Garden and ordered a cake from Whole Foods. The money I saved for our celebration, we spent on a Nintendo Wii instead! Happy Anniversary to us!

Keep reading... I went crazy and posted a lot =)

All About Disneyland

Here is a collection of some recent visits to Disneyland!


We will call this visit the Barbie Tiana visit. Barbie, because it was during our Barbie expo. Tiana, because it was to see Tiana's Showboat Jubilee! We ditched our Barbie movies and headed down to Anaheim just to see the new show, dedicated to the Princess and the Frog. I think people were wondering what the heck was going on because the movie hadn't been released yet. This was the day that I also purchased my annual pass! Now I can go whenever I want =) We also had not seen the new Disney Gallery since they re-opened it on Main Street. Nathan and I took a picture in front of it since he was my trainer when I worked at the one above Pirates (which is now a dream suite). It was also the day they were filming the Christmas Fantasy parade for TV (seen on Christmas day), so there weren't a ton of people in New Orleans. We had a perfect view of the show, thanks to Nathan, who had already seen it. The new show is amazing! The best new show in quite a long time. Usually, the new Disney movies get a float and become the "pre-parade" in whichever parade is running. So, to see a whole show dedicated to a new movie was fantastic! They start off backstage in New Orleans, then parade down to the water and get on the Mark Twain Riverboat. The boat then sails to about the center of the water, stops, and they do a whold show of songs. Then it sails off and comes around again. It docks, then dancers get off and parade back through New Orleans. Here is a slide show of it:

This visit is called Christmas Fantasy Believe. It was opening weekend for the parade, A Christmas Fantasy, and the fireworks show, Believe In Holday Magic. Kato, Janelle's brother, was the reason we all went to Disneyland. It's his last trip before heading off to the Army. We had VIP seating for the Christmas Fantasy parade. My favorite part is the skating snowflakes! After the fireworks show, Believe, it snows! I really miss real snow. Here are some fun pictures from our day, the parade and the fireworks show!



Finally, a trip with Disneyland Dad! We went Thanksgiving weekend. We did as many roller coasters as he could handle, watched all the shows, and ate fantastic food. Not to mention we shopped until we dropped!


Keep reading, more posts!